Oxidation catalyst and process

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to the field of heterogeneous catalysis, and more particularly to catalysts including carbon supports having formed thereon compositions which comprise a transition metal in combination with nitrogen and/or carbon. The invention further relates to the fields of catalytic oxidation, including the preparation of secondary amines by the catalytic oxidation of tertiary amines.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 10/366,947,filed Feb. 14, 2003, which claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 60/356,916, filed Feb. 14, 2002. This applicationis also a continuation-in-part of the U.S. Nonprovisional Applicationfiled Aug. 16, 2004 entitled “Transition Metal-Containing Catalysts andProcesses for Their Preparation and Use as Oxidation and DehydrogenationCatalysts,” which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 60/495,481, filed Aug. 14, 2003. The entire content of each ofthese applications is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of heterogeneous catalysis, and moreparticularly to oxidation catalysts including carbon supports havingformed thereon compositions which comprise a transition metal incombination with nitrogen and/or carbon. The invention further relatesto the field of catalytic oxidation reactions, including the preparationof secondary amines by the catalytic oxidation of tertiary amines.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Investigations to discover alternative materials for use in catalysisconcerning various types of reactions have included evaluation of thesuitability of carbide and nitride materials. Generally, carbide andnitride materials have been considered as possible alternatives for usein various types of catalysis since they exhibit “metal-like” properties(e.g., high melting points, hardness and strength). Levy & Boudartreport that carbide and nitride materials exhibit catalytic propertiessimilar to those of noble metals. See Platinum-Like Behavior of TungstenCarbide in Surface Catalysis (Science, 181 (1973), 547-549).

Supported carbide and nitride catalysts have been described generallyand reported as suitable for use in various types of reactions. Slaughet al. describe a supported molybdenum carbide composition prepared byimpregnating hexamolybdenum dodecachloride onto a porous aluminous(e.g., Al₂O₃), siliceous or carbonaceous (e.g., active carbon) supportwhich is then heated in a carbiding atmosphere at a temperature of about650° C. to about 750° C. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,842.

Leclercq et al. report a catalytic reforming process employing catalystsbased on tungsten and molybdenum carbides supported on alumina andactive carbon. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,708. These catalysts are preparedby successive impregnations of active carbon using ammonium molybdateand ammonium tungstate solutions which are evaporated to dryness in air,calcined in a nitrogen atmosphere which is followed by reduction of thetungsten and molybdenum oxides formed during calcination under ahydrogen atmosphere. These compounds are then heated under hydrogen toallow the active phase compounds to react with the carbon support toproduce mixed carbides of tungsten and molybdenum.

Sherif et al. report carbon-supported Group VIB metal (e.g., Cr, Mo, W)carbide-containing catalysts formed by calcining a carbon support (e.g.,activated carbon and acid washed activated carbon) which has beenimpregnated with a water-soluble precursor for the metal carbide. SeeInternational Publication No. WO 95/32150.

Oyama reports interstitial alloys formed by the incorporation of carbon,nitrogen, and oxygen into the lattices of early transition metals toproduce a class of compounds with metallic character. See Preparationand Catalytic Properties of Transition Metal Carbides and Nitrides(Catalysis Today, 15, 179-200. 1992).

Iwai et al. report carbonitrides consisting of a carbide and nitride ofthe metals of Groups IV, V, and VI prepared by calcining a precursorobtained by reacting polyphenol with the reaction product of ammonia andthe halide of a Group IV, V, or VI metal. The precursor may also beobtained by reacting the reaction product of polyphenol and the halideof a Group IV, V, or VI metal with ammonia. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,916.

Faubert et al. report on methods for preparing iron-containing catalystscontaining iron carbide particles prepared by activation of a precursorconsisting of Fe hydroxide adsorbed on carbon black by hydrogenreduction and pyrolysis in the presence of acetonitrile. See Activationand characterization of Fe-based catalysts for the reduction of oxygenin polymer electrolyte fuel cells (Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 43, Nos.14-15, pp. 1969-1984, 1998).

Cote et al. report on methods for preparation of non-noble metal basedcatalysts prepared by pyrolysis of a transition metal hydroxide (e.g.,vanadium, chromium, iron, cobalt hydroxide) on carbon black includingreduction in the presence of hydrogen and heating in the presence ofacetonitrile. See Non-noble metal-based catalysts for the reduction ofoxygen in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (Journal of New Materials forElectrochemical Systems, 1, 7-16, 1998).

Catalysts containing carbides or nitrides may be advantageous in certaininstances due to the absence of a costly noble metal. One such reactionin which an active catalyst which does not require the presence of anoble metal may be advantageous is the oxidation of a tertiary amine(e.g., N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid) to produce a secondaryamine (e.g., N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine). N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine(known in the agricultural chemical industry as “glyphosate”) isdescribed in Franz, U.S. Pat. No. 3,799,758. N-(phosphonomethyl)glycineand its salts are conveniently applied as a post-emergent herbicide inan aqueous formulation. It is a highly effective and commerciallyimportant broad-spectrum herbicide useful in killing or controlling thegrowth of a wide variety of plants, including germinating seeds,emerging seedlings, maturing and established woody and herbaceousvegetation, and aquatic plants.

Various methods for making N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine are known in theart. Franz (U.S. Pat. No. 3,950,402) teaches thatN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine may be prepared by the liquid phase oxidativecleavage of N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid (sometimes referred toas “PMIDA”) with oxygen in the presence of a catalyst comprising a noblemetal deposited on the surface of an activated carbon support:

Other by-products also may form, such as formic acid, which is formed bythe oxidation of the formaldehyde by-product; and aminomethylphosphonicacid (“AMPA”), which is formed by the oxidation ofN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine. Even though the Franz method produces anacceptable yield and purity of N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine, high lossesof the costly noble metal into the reaction solution (i.e., “leaching”)result because under the oxidation conditions of the reaction, some ofthe noble metal is oxidized into a more soluble form and both PMIDA andN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine act as ligands which solubilize the noblemetal.

In U.S. Pat. No. 3,969,398, Hershman teaches that activated carbonalone, without the presence of a noble metal, may be used to effect theoxidative cleavage of PMIDA to form N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine. In U.S.Pat. Nos. 4,624,937, Chou further teaches that the activity of thecarbon catalyst taught by Hershman may be increased by removing theoxides from the surface of the carbon catalyst before using it in theoxidation reaction. See also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,772, which provides aseparate discussion by Chou regarding increasing the activity of thecarbon catalyst by removing oxides from the surface of the carboncatalyst. Although these processes obviously do not suffer from noblemetal leaching, they do tend to produce greater concentrations offormaldehyde by-product when used to effect the oxidative cleavage ofN-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid. This formaldehyde by-product isundesirable because it reacts with N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine to produceunwanted by-products (mainly N-methyl-N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine,sometimes referred to as “NMG”) which reduce theN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine yield. In addition, the formaldehydeby-product itself is undesirable because of its potential toxicity. SeeSmith, U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,107.

It has been suggested that the formaldehyde be simultaneously oxidizedto carbon dioxide and water as the PMIDA is oxidized toN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine in a single reactor, thus giving thefollowing reaction:

As the above teachings suggest, such a process requires the presence ofboth carbon (which primarily effects the oxidation of PMIDA to formN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine and formaldehyde) and a noble metal (whichprimarily effects the oxidation of formaldehyde to formic acid, carbondioxide and water). Previous attempts to develop a stable catalyst forsuch an oxidation process, however, have not been entirely satisfactory.

Like Franz, Ramon et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,228) teach using a noblemetal deposited on the surface of a carbon support. To reduce theproblem of leaching (which Ramon et al. report to be as great as 30%noble metal loss per cycle), however, Ramon et al. teach flushing thereaction mixture with nitrogen under pressure after the oxidationreaction is completed to cause re-deposition of the noble metal onto thesurface of the carbon support. According to Ramon et al., nitrogenflushing reduces the noble metal loss to less than 1%. Still, the amountof noble metal loss incurred with this method is unacceptable. Inaddition, re-depositing the noble metal can lead to loss of noble metalsurface area which, in turn, decreases the activity of the catalyst.

Using a different approach, Felthouse (U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,650) teachesusing two catalysts: (i) an activated carbon to effect the oxidation ofPMIDA into N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine, and (ii) a co-catalyst toconcurrently effect the oxidation of formaldehyde into carbon dioxideand water. The co-catalyst consists of an aluminosilicate support havinga noble metal located within its pores. The pores are sized to excludeN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine and thereby prevent the noble metal of theco-catalyst from being poisoned by N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine. Accordingto Felthouse, use of these two catalysts together allows for thesimultaneous oxidation of PMIDA to N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine and offormaldehyde to carbon dioxide and water. This approach, however,suffers from several disadvantages: (1) it is difficult to recover thecostly noble metal from the aluminosilicate support for re-use; (2) itis difficult to design the two catalysts so that the rates between themare matched; and (3) the carbon support, which has no noble metaldeposited on its surface, tends to deactivate at a rate which can exceed10% per cycle.

Ebner et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,133, describe a deeply reducednoble metal on carbon catalyst which is characterized by a CO desorptionof less than 1.2 mmole/g, preferably less than 0.5 mmole/g, when a drysample of the catalyst, after being heated at a temperature of about500° C. for about 1 hour in a hydrogen atmosphere and before beingexposed to an oxidant following the heating in the hydrogen atmosphere,is heated in a helium atmosphere from about 20° to about 900° C. at arate of about 10° C. per minute, and then at about 900° C. for about 30minutes. The catalyst is additionally or alternatively characterized ashaving a ratio of carbon atoms to oxygen atoms of at least about 20:1,preferably at least about 30:1, at the surface as measured by x-rayphotoelectron spectroscopy after the catalyst is heated at a temperatureof about 500° C. for about 1 hour in a hydrogen atmosphere and beforethe catalyst is exposed to an oxidant following the heating in thehydrogen atmosphere.

The catalysts of U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,133 have proven to be highlyadvantageous and effective catalysts for the oxidation ofN-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid to N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine, andfor the further oxidation of by-product formaldehyde and formic acid,and without excessive leaching of noble metal from the carbon support.It has further been discovered that these catalysts are effective in theoperation of a continuous process for the production ofN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine by oxidation ofN-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid.

Carbon and noble metal sites on the catalysts of U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,133are highly effective for transfer of electrons in the oxidation ofN-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid, and the noble metal sites areespecially effective for this purpose in the oxidation of formaldehydeand formic acid. However, it would be advantageous to have amulti-reaction catalyst and reaction process which oxidizes PMIDA toN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine while simultaneously exhibiting desiredoxidation of formaldehyde to carbon dioxide and water (i.e., increasedformaldehyde activity), and which does not require the presence of anoble metal (e.g., a carbide, nitride, or carbide-nitride containingcatalyst). Additionally or alternatively, it would likewise beadvantageous to have such a multi-reaction catalyst and reaction processwhich does not require costly noble metal, or which functionseffectively with a reduced noble metal content relative to catalystscurrently available for commercial manufacture ofN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine or other secondary amines.

Salts of iminodiacetic acid may be phosphonomethylated to form PMIDAwhich, in turn, may be oxidized to form N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine inaccordance with the above description. See, e.g., Gentilcore, U.S. Pat.No. 4,775,498 (disclosing a method to phosphonomethylate a salt ofiminodiacetic acid); Ebner, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,133 (disclosingmethods for oxidizing PMIDA).

Salts of nitrilotriacetic acid, for example, are excellent chelatingagents, and consequently may be used as detergent builders,water-softening agents, scouring aids, dyeing assistants, paper-coatingagents, scale inhibitors, and agents for preventing soap degeneration.And many amino-carboxylic acid salts (e.g., salts of glycine, salts ofiminodiacetic acid, etc.) may also be neutralized to their correspondingacids and then used, for example, as chelating agents; in foodpreparations; and as raw materials for making pharmaceuticals,agricultural chemicals, and pesticides. See, e.g., Franz, et al.,Glyphosate: A Unique Global Herbicide (ACS Monograph 189, 1997) at pp.234-41 (disclosing the use of glycine and iminodiacetic acid compoundsas raw materials to form N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine).

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

This invention provides catalysts and methods for preparing catalyststhat are useful in various heterogeneous oxidation reactions, includingthe preparation of secondary amines by the catalytic oxidation oftertiary amines. The catalysts include supports, particularly carbonsupports, having formed thereon compositions which comprise a transitionmetal in combination with nitrogen and/or carbon and optionally a noblemetal deposited on the modified support. The oxidation catalystsdisclosed herein are particularly useful in the oxidative cleavage ofPMIDA reagents such as N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid to form anN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine product. In such reactions, the catalyst ofthe present invention have proven to be effective in catalyzing thefurther oxidation of the formaldehyde and formic acid by-products.

Briefly, therefore, the present invention is directed to an oxidationcatalyst comprising a transition metal composition comprising atransition metal and nitrogen on a carbon support. In one embodiment,the transition metal/nitrogen composition is present in a proportion ofat least about 0.2% by weight of the catalyst. In another embodiment, atleast about 5% by weight of the transition metal is present in anon-zero oxidation state. In a further embodiment, the oxidationcatalyst exhibits a total Langmuir surface area of at least about 600m²/g.

The oxidation catalyst of the present invention may further include anoble metal. For example, an oxidation catalyst is provided comprising amodified carbon support comprising a carbon support having a transitionmetal and nitrogen thereon and a noble metal is deposited over themodified carbon support.

The present invention is further directed to a process for preparing aredox catalyst. In one embodiment the process comprises pyrolyzing asource of a transition metal selected from the group consisting of GroupIB, Group VB, Group VIB, Group VIIB, Group VIII, lanthanide seriesmetals, and combinations thereof and a source of nitrogen on a carbonsupport surface to produce a modified carbon support having a transitionmetal/nitrogen composition thereon. Thereafter, a noble metal isdeposited on the modified carbon support.

The present invention is further directed to processes for the oxidationof an organic substrate using the various embodiments of the oxidationcatalysts described above. In such processes, the organic substrate iscontacted with an oxidizing agent in the presence of the oxidationcatalyst.

In a further embodiment, the process for oxidizing an organic substratecomprises contacting the substrate with an oxidizing agent in thepresence of an oxidation catalyst. The catalyst comprises a modifiedcarbon support having a transition metal/nitrogen composition thereon,the transition metal/nitrogen composition present in a proportion suchthat the transition metal of the transition metal/nitrogen compositionconstitutes at least about 0.1% by weight of the catalyst, and thenitrogen of the transition metal/nitrogen composition constitutes atleast about 0.01% by weight of the catalyst.

Other objects and features of this invention will be in part apparentand in part pointed out hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) image of a carbonsupported molybdenum carbide having copper deposited thereon.

FIG. 2 is a SEM image of a carbon supported molybdenum carbide havingcopper deposited thereon.

FIG. 3 is a Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) image of a carbonsupported molybdenum carbide having copper deposited thereon.

FIG. 4 is a SEM image of a carbon supported molybdenum carbide havingcopper deposited thereon.

FIG. 5 is a High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM)image of a carbon-supported molybdenum carbide.

FIG. 6 is a SEM image of a carbon supported molybdenum carbide.

FIG. 7 is a TEM image of a carbon supported molybdenum carbide.

FIG. 8 shows the percentage of carbon dioxide in the exit gas producedduring N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid (PMIDA) oxidation carriedout using various catalysts as described in Example 24.

FIG. 9 shows carbon dioxide profiles of PMIDA oxidation carried outusing various catalysts as described in Example 25.

FIG. 10 shows carbon dioxide profiles of PMIDA oxidation carried outusing various catalysts as described in Example 28.

FIG. 11 shows the carbon dioxide percentage in the exit gas producedduring PMIDA oxidation as described in Example 29.

FIG. 12 shows the carbon dioxide percentage in the exit gas producedduring PMIDA oxidation as described in Example 29.

FIG. 13 shows the carbon dioxide percentage in the exit gas producedduring PMIDA oxidation as described in Example 29.

FIG. 14 shows the carbon dioxide percentage in the exit gas producedduring PMIDA oxidation as described in Example 29.

FIG. 15 shows the results of the carbon dioxide drop-point measurementcomparison as described in Example 32.

FIG. 16 shows carbon dioxide generation during PMIDA oxidation carriedout as described in Example 34.

FIG. 17 shows a comparison of the pore surface area of various catalystsas described in Example 48.

FIG. 18 shows a comparison of the pore surface area of various catalystsas described in Example 48.

FIGS. 19-30 show X-ray diffraction (XRD) results for catalyst samplesanalyzed as described in Example 50.

FIGS. 31-41 are SEM images of catalyst samples analyzed as described inExample 51.

FIG. 42 is an Energy dispersive X-ray analysis spectroscopy (EDS)spectrum of a catalyst sample analyzed as described in Example 51.

FIGS. 43 and 44 are TEM images of catalyst samples analyzed as describedin Example 51.

FIGS. 45 and 46 are SEM Images of catalyst samples analyzed as describedin Example 51.

FIGS. 47 and 48 are TEM images of catalyst samples analyzed as describedin Example 51.

FIGS. 49-52 are SEM Images of catalyst samples analyzed as described inExample 51.

FIGS. 53 and 54 are TEM images of catalyst samples analyzed as describedin Example 51.

FIGS. 55 and 56 are X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) results forsamples analyzed as described in Example 52.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Described herein are catalysts containing a transition metal compositionformed on a carbon support. The catalyst generally comprises atransition metal composition comprising a transition metal and nitrogen,a transition metal and carbon, or a transition metal, nitrogen, andcarbon. A transition metal composition comprising a transition metal andnitrogen preferably includes a transition metal nitride while atransition metal composition comprising a transition metal and carbonpreferably includes a transition metal carbide. Transition metalcompositions including a transition metal, nitrogen, and carbon mayinclude both a transition metal nitride and a transition metal carbide,and/or a transition metal carbide-nitride.

In various embodiments, the catalyst comprises a transition metal/carboncomposition which includes a transition metal carbide (e.g., molybdenumcarbide). In other embodiments, the catalyst comprises a transitionmetal/nitrogen composition which includes a transition metal nitride(e.g., molybdenum nitride). In still other embodiments, the catalystincludes a transition metal carbide (e.g., cobalt carbide) and atransition metal nitride (e.g., cobalt nitride). In still furtherembodiments, the catalyst includes a transition metal carbide-nitride(e.g., cobalt carbide-nitride).

Catalysts of the present invention may be used to catalyze liquid phase(i.e., in an aqueous solution or an organic solvent) oxidation reactionsand, in particular, the oxidation of a tertiary amine (e.g.,N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid) to produce a secondary amine(e.g., N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine). Advantageously, the catalysts of thepresent invention including a transition metal composition formed on acarbon support also catalyze oxidation of the formaldehyde by-productthat is formed in the oxidation of N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiaceticacid) to N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine).

In certain embodiments, the catalyst of the present invention includes anoble metal deposited on a modified carbon support including atransition metal composition formed on a carbon support. Presence of thenoble metal generally enhances the effectiveness of the catalyst inoxidation of the formaldehyde by-product of the oxidation ofN-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid to N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine).Although the catalysts of the present invention are advantageous incatalyzing the oxidation of tertiary amines such asN-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid in the absence of a noble metal,and may also be effective for the oxidation of by-products such asformaldehyde, the presence of a noble metal active phase may bepreferable in some instances. By evaluating experimental data for aparticular substrate and process, applying standard economic principles,those skilled in the art can weigh the advantages of a noble metal-freecatalyst against a noble metal catalyst with respect to yields,productivity, capital, depreciation, labor and materials expense.

Further described herein are processes for preparing transition metalcompositions comprising a transition metal and nitrogen, a transitionmetal and carbon, or a transition metal, nitrogen, and carbon on acarbon support. Also detailed herein are processes for depositing ametal-containing active phase on a modified carbon support including atransition metal composition formed on a carbon support. Reference todeposition of a metal-containing “active” phase onto catalysts includinga transition metal composition formed on a carbon support (e.g., amodified carbon support) should not be taken as exclusive of anycatalytic activity of the transition metal composition formed on thecarbon support, or of the carbon support itself. For example, the carbonsupport alone is known to catalyze the oxidation of tertiary amines tosecondary amines, and the transition metal composition possessescatalytic properties as well.

Generally, the supporting structure may comprise any material suitablefor formation of a transition metal composition thereon and/ordepositing a metal-containing active phase onto a modified supportincluding a transition metal composition formed on a carbon support.Preferably, the supporting structure is in the form of a carbon support.In particular, carbon supports are preferred for the conversion ofprimary alcohols to carboxylic acid salts due to their resistance to thealkaline environment of the reaction.

In general, the carbon supports used in the present invention are wellknown in the art. Activated, non-graphitized carbon supports arepreferred. These supports are characterized by high adsorptive capacityfor gases, vapors, and colloidal solids and relatively high specificsurface areas. The support suitably may be a carbon, char, or charcoalproduced by means known in the art, for example, by destructivedistillation of wood, peat, lignite, coal, nut shells, bones, vegetable,or other natural or synthetic carbonaceous matter, but preferably is“activated” to develop adsorptive power. Activation usually is achievedby heating to high temperatures (800-900° C.) with steam or with carbondioxide which brings about a porous particle structure and increasedspecific surface area. In some cases, hygroscopic substances, such aszinc chloride and/or phosphoric acid or sodium sulfate, are added beforethe destructive distillation or activation, to increase adsorptivecapacity. Preferably, the carbon content of the carbon support rangesfrom about 10% for bone charcoal to about 98% for some wood chars andnearly 100% for activated carbons derived from organic polymers. Thenon-carbonaceous matter in commercially available activated carbonmaterials normally will vary depending on such factors as precursororigin, processing, and activation method. Many commercially availablecarbon supports contain small amounts of metals. In certain embodiments,carbon supports having the fewest oxygen-containing functional groups attheir surfaces are most preferred.

The form of the carbon support is not critical. In certain embodiments,the support is a monolithic support. Suitable monolithic supports mayhave a wide variety of shapes. Such a support may be, for example, inthe form of a screen or honeycomb. Such a support may also, for example,be in the form of a reactor impeller.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the support is in the form ofparticulates. Because particulate supports are especially preferred,most of the following discussion focuses on embodiments which use aparticulate support. It should be recognized, however, that thisinvention is not limited to the use of particulate supports.

Suitable particulate supports may have a wide variety of shapes. Forexample, such supports may be in the form of granules. Even morepreferably, the support is in the form of a powder. These particulatesupports may be used in a reactor system as free particles, or,alternatively, may be bound to a structure in the reactor system, suchas a screen or an impeller.

Typically, a support which is in particulate form comprises a broad sizedistribution of particles. For powders, preferably at least about 95% ofthe particles are from about 2 to about 300 μm in their largestdimension, more preferably at least about 98% of the particles are fromabout 2 to about 200 μm in their largest dimension, and most preferablyabout 99% of the particles are from about 2 to about 150 μm in theirlargest dimension with about 95% of the particles being from about 3 toabout 100 μm in their largest dimension. Particles being greater thanabout 200 μm in their largest dimension tend to fracture into super-fineparticles (i.e., less than 2 μm in their largest dimension), which aredifficult to recover.

In the following discussion, specific surface areas of carbon supportsand the oxidation and dehydrogenation catalysts of the present inventionare provided in terms of the well-known Langmuir method using N₂.However, such values generally correspond to those measured by the alsowell-known Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (B.E.T.) method using N₂.

The specific surface area of the carbon support, typically measured bythe Langmuir method using N₂, is preferably from about 10 to about 3,000m²/g (surface area of carbon support per gram of carbon support), morepreferably from about 500 to about 2,100 m²/g, and still more preferablyfrom about 750 to about 2,100 m²/g. In some embodiments, the mostpreferred specific area is from about 750 to about 1,750 m²/g. In otherembodiments, typically the particulate carbon support has a Langmuirsurface area of at least about 1000 m²/g prior to formation of atransition metal composition on the carbon support, more typically atleast about 1200 m²/g and, still more typically, at least about 1400m²/g. Preferably, the Langmuir surface area of the carbon support priorto formation of a transition metal composition on the carbon support isfrom about 1000 to about 1600 m²/g and, more preferably, from about 1000to about 1500 m²/g prior to formation of a transition metal compositionon the carbon support.

The Langmuir micropore surface area of the support (i.e., surface areaof the support attributed to pores having a diameter less than 20 Å) istypically at least about 300 m²/g, more typically at least about 600m²/g. Preferably, the Langmuir micropore surface area is from about 300to about 1500 m²/g and, more preferably, from about 600 to about 1400m²/g. The Langmuir combined mesopore and macropore surface area of thesupport (i.e., surface area of the support attributed to pores having adiameter greater than 20 Å) is typically at least about 100 m²/g, moretypically at least about 150 m²/g. Preferably, the combined Langmuirmesopore and macropore surface area is from about 100 to about 400 m²/g,more preferably from about 100 to about 300 m²/g and, still morepreferably, from about 150 to about 250 m²/g.

For certain applications (e.g., hydrogenation, petroleum hydrotreating,and isomerization), non-carbon supports may be used with a catalystcontaining a transition metal composition formed on the support asdescribed herein. For example, silica and alumina supports havingLangmuir surface areas of at least about 50 m²/g. Typically, thesesupports will have Langmuir surface areas of from about 50 to about 300m²/g.

Generally, supports having high surface areas are preferred because theytend to produce a finished catalyst having a high surface area.

Finished catalysts exhibiting sufficient pore volume are desired so thatreactants are able to penetrate the pores of the finished catalyst. Thepore volume of the support may vary widely. Generally, the pore volumeof the support is at least about 0.1 cm³/g (pore volume per gram ofsupport) and, typically, at least about 0.5 cm³/g. Typically, the porevolume is from about 0.1 to about 2.5 cm³/g and, more typically, fromabout 1.0 to about 2.0 cm³/g. Preferably, the pore volume of the supportis from about 0.2 to about 2.0 cm³/g, more preferably from about 0.4 toabout 1.7 cm³/g and, still more preferably, from about 0.5 to about 1.7cm³/g. Catalysts comprising supports with pore volumes greater thanabout 2.5 cm³/g tend to fracture easily. On the other hand, catalystscomprising supports having pore volumes less than 0.1 cm³/g tend to havesmall surface areas and therefore low activity.

Penetration of reactants into the pores of the finished catalysts isalso affected by the pore size distribution of the support. Typically,at least about 60% of the pore volume of the support is made up of poreshaving a diameter of at least about 20 Å. Preferably, from about 60 toabout 75% of the pore volume of the support is made up of pores having adiameter of at least about 20 Å.

Typically, at least about 20% of the pore volume of the support is madeup of pores having a diameter of between about 20 and about 40 Å.Preferably, from about 20 to about 35% of the pore volume of the supportis made of pores having a diameter of between about 20 and about 40 Å.

Typically, at least about 25% of the pore volume of the support is madeup of pores having a diameter of at least about 40 Å. Preferably, fromabout 25 to about 60% of the pore volume of the support is made up ofpores having a diameter of at least about 40 Å.

Typically, at least about 5% of the pore volume of the support is madeup of pores having a diameter of between about 40 and about 60 Å.Preferably, from about 5 to about 20% of the pore volume of the supportis made up of pores having a diameter of between about 40 and about 60Å.

Carbon supports for use in the present invention are commerciallyavailable from a number of sources. The following is a listing of someof the activated carbons which may be used with this invention: DarcoG-60 Spec and Darco X (ICI-America, Wilmington, Del.); Norit SG Extra,Norit EN4, Norit EXW, Norit A, Norit Ultra-C, Norit ACX, and Norit 4×14mesh (Amer. Norit Co., Inc., Jacksonville, Fla.); G1-9615, VG-8408,VG-8590, NB-9377, XZ, NW, and JV (Barnebey-Cheney, Columbus, Ohio); BLPulv., PWA Pulv., Calgon C 450, and PCB Fines (Pittsburgh ActivatedCarbon, Div. of Calgon Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa.); P-100 (No. Amer.Carbon, Inc., Columbus, Ohio); Nuchar CN, Nuchar C-1000 N, Nuchar C-190A, Nuchar C-115 A, and Nuchar SA-30 (Westvaco Corp., Carbon Department,Covington, Va.); Code 1551 (Baker and Adamson, Division of Allied Amer.Norit Co., Inc., Jacksonville, Fla.); Grade 235, Grade 337, Grade 517,and Grade 256 (Witco Chemical Corp., Activated Carbon Div., New York,N.Y.); and Columbia SXAC (Union Carbide New York, N.Y.).

The transition metal composition formed on the carbon support generallycomprises a transition metal and nitrogen, a transition metal andcarbon, or a transition metal, nitrogen, and carbon. The transitionmetal is selected from the group consisting of Group IB, Group VB, GroupVIB, Group VIIB, Group VIII, lanthanide series metals, and combinationsthereof. Groups of elements as referred to herein are with reference tothe Chemical Abstracts Registry (CAS) system for numbering the elementsof the Periodic Table (e.g., Group VIII includes, among others, iron,cobalt, and nickel). In particular, the transition metal is selectedfrom the group consisting of copper, silver, vanadium, chromium,molybdenum, tungsten, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, ruthenium,cerium, and combinations thereof. In certain embodiments, the transitionmetal composition includes a plurality of transition metals (e.g.,cobalt and cerium).

The transition metal, nitrogen and/or the transition metal compositionsdisclosed herein are preferably bonded to the carbon support and, morepreferably, substantially evenly distributed throughout the carbonsupport. As disclosed in more detail below, the transition metalcomposition of the oxidation catalyst comprises an active phase for thecatalysis of a redox reaction; in particular, an active phase forcatalyzing the reduction of molecular oxygen.

Catalysts comprising a transition metal/nitrogen composition bound to acarbon support have been demonstrated to exhibit a substantiallyenhanced efficacy for the reduction of molecular oxygen as compared tothe carbon support alone. This may be demonstrated by subjecting thecatalyst to cyclic voltammetric reduction of oxygen. For example, whencyclic voltammetry in the reduction of molecular oxygen is conducted inan electrolytic medium consisting of 0.1M H₃PO₄ at 70° C., a catalystcomprising a transition metal composition on a carbon support preparedin accordance with the present invention (i.e., a modified carbonsupport) typically exhibits an increased reduction current relative tothe untreated carbon support under reference conditions wherein thecatalyst serves as an electrode that is cycled in the range of +0.5 to+0.1 volts vs. an Ag/AgCl electrode in the.

Generally, the transition metal compositions of the present inventioninclude the transition metal in a non-metallic form (i.e., in a non-zerooxidation state) combined with nitrogen, carbon, or carbon and nitrogenin form of a transition metal nitride, carbide, or carbide-nitride,respectively. The transition metal compositions may further comprisefree transition metal in its metallic form (i.e., in an oxidation stateof zero). The transition metal compositions may also includecarbide-nitride compositions having an empirical formula of CN_(x)wherein x is from about 0.01 to about 0.7.

Typically, at least about 5% by weight of the transition metal ispresent in a non-zero oxidation state (e.g., as part of a transitionmetal nitride, transition metal carbide, or transition metalcarbide-nitride), more typically at least about 20%, still moretypically at least about 30% and, even more typically, at least about40%. Preferably, from about 5 to about 50% by weight of the transitionmetal is in a non-zero oxidation state, more preferably from about 20 toabout 40% by weight and still more preferably, from about 30 to about40% by weight of the transition metal is in a non-zero oxidation state.

For catalysts including a transition metal composition (e.g., transitionmetal nitride) formed on a carbon support, generally the transitionmetal composition comprises at least about 0.1% by weight or at leastabout 0.2% by weight of the catalyst and, typically, at least about 0.5%by weight of the catalyst. Typically, the transition metal compositioncomprises from about 0.1 to about 20% by weight of the catalyst, moretypically from about 0.4 or about 0.5 to about 15% by weight of thecatalyst. For example, in some embodiments the transition metalcomposition comprises from about 0.4% to about 6% by weight of thecatalyst or from about 0.5 to about 10% by weight of the catalyst. Stillmore typically, the transition metal composition comprises from about 1to about 12% by weight of the catalyst. In certain embodiments, thetransition metal composition comprises from about 1 to about 2% byweight of the catalyst and, in others, from about 1 to about 1.5% byweight of the catalyst.

Typically, the transition metal component of the transition metalcomposition is present in a proportion of at least about 0.1% by weightof the catalyst, more typically at least about 0.5% by weight of thecatalyst and, still more typically, at least about 1% by weight of thecatalyst. Preferably, the transition metal component is present in aproportion of from about 0.1 to about 20% by weight of the catalyst,more preferably from about 0.1 to about 10% by weight of the catalyst.For example, the transition metal component may be present in aproportion of from about 0.25 to 7% by weight of the catalyst, fromabout 0.5 to about 10% by weight of the catalyst or from about 0.5 toabout 5% by weight of the catalyst. Still more preferably, thetransition metal component is present in a proportion of from about 0.2to about 3% by weight of the catalyst, from about 1 to about 2% byweight of the catalyst and, even more preferably, from about 1 to about1.5% by weight of the catalyst.

The nitrogen component of transition metal compositions comprising atransition metal and nitrogen is typically present in a proportion of atleast about 0.01% by weight of the catalyst, more typically at leastabout 0.1% by weight of the catalyst, still more typically at leastabout 0.5% by weight of the catalyst and, even more typically, in aproportion of at least about 1% by weight of the catalyst. Preferably,the nitrogen component is present in a proportion of from about 0.01 toabout 10% by weight of the catalyst, more preferably from about 0.1 toabout 7% by weight of the catalyst, more preferably from about 0.1 toabout 5% by weight of the catalyst, more preferably from about 0.1 toabout 3% by weight of the catalyst, more preferably from about 0.2 toabout 3% by weight of the catalyst. In various embodiments, the nitrogencomponent is present in a proportion of from about 1 to 5% by weight ofthe catalyst, even more preferably from about 1 to about 2% by weight ofthe catalyst and, still more preferably, from about 1 to about 1.5% byweight of the catalyst.

Generally, the ratio of transition metal(s) to nitrogen in thetransition metal compositions is from about 1:4 to about 3:1.

In certain embodiments, the transition metal/nitrogen compositioncomprises cobalt and nitrogen and, in various embodiments, cobaltnitride. Such cobalt nitride typically has an empirical formula of, forexample, CoN_(x) wherein x is typically from about 0.25 to about 4, moretypically from about 0.25 to 2 and, still more typically, from about0.25 to about 1. Typically, the total proportion of at least one cobaltnitride having such an empirical formula (e.g., CO₂N) is at least about0.01% by weight of the catalyst. Typically, the total proportion of allcobalt nitride having such an empirical formula is at least about 0.1%by weight of the catalyst.

In such embodiments, cobalt is typically present in a proportion of atleast about 0.1% by weight of the catalyst, more typically at leastabout 0.5% by weight of the catalyst and, more typically, at least about1% by weight of the catalyst. Preferably, cobalt is present in aproportion of from about 0.5 to about 10% by weight of the catalyst,more preferably from about 1 to about 2% by weight of the catalyst and,even more preferably, from about 1 to about 1.5% by weight of thecatalyst. In certain embodiment, cobalt is present in a proportion offrom about 0.1 to about 3% by weight of the catalyst. Further inaccordance with such embodiments, nitrogen is typically present in aproportion of at least about 0.01% by weight of the catalyst and, moretypically, in a proportion of from about 0.5 to about 2% by weight ofthe catalyst.

In certain embodiments, the transition metal/nitrogen compositioncomprises iron and nitrogen and, in particular, iron nitride. Such ironnitride typically has an empirical formula of, for example, FeN_(x)wherein x is typically from about 0.25 to about 4, more typically fromabout 0.25 to 2 and, still more typically, from about 0.25 to about 1.Typically, the total proportion of at least one iron nitride having suchan empirical formula (e.g., FeN) is present in a proportion of at leastabout 0.01% by weight of the catalyst. Typically, the total proportionof all iron nitrides having such an empirical formula is at least about0.1% by weight of the catalyst.

In such embodiments, iron is typically present in a proportion of atleast about 0.01% by weight of the catalyst, more typically at leastabout 0.1% by weight of the catalyst and, more typically, at least about0.2% by weight of the catalyst. Preferably, iron is present in aproportion of from about 0.1 to about 5% by weight of the catalyst, morepreferably from about 0.1 to about 3% by weight of the catalyst, stillmore preferably from about 0.2 to about 1.5% by weight of the catalystand, even more preferably, from about 0.5 to about 1% by weight of thecatalyst. In certain embodiments, iron is present in a proportion of atfrom about 1 to about 2% by weight of the catalyst and, in others, fromabout 1 to about 1.5% by weight of the catalyst. Further in accordancewith such embodiments, nitrogen is typically present in a proportion ofat least about 0.01% by weight of the catalyst and, more typically, in aproportion of from about 0.1 to about 2% by weight of the catalyst.

In certain embodiments, transition metal/carbon compositions comprisecobalt and carbon and, in certain embodiments, cobalt carbide. Suchcobalt carbide typically has an empirical formula of, for example,CoC_(x) wherein x is typically from about 0.25 to about 4, moretypically from about 0.25 to 2 and, still more typically, from about0.25 to about 1. Typically, the total proportion of at least one cobaltcarbide of such stoichiometric formula (e.g., Co₂C) is at least about0.01% by weight of the catalyst. Typically, the total proportion of allcobalt carbide of such empirical formulae is at least about 0.1% byweight of the catalyst.

In such embodiments, cobalt is typically present in a proportion of atleast about 0.1% by weight of the catalyst, more typically at leastabout 0.5% by weight of the catalyst and, more typically, at least about1% by weight of the catalyst. Preferably, cobalt is present in aproportion of from about 0.5 to about 10% by weight of the catalyst,more preferably from about 1 to about 2% by weight of the catalyst and,still more preferably, from about 1 to about 1.5% by weight of thecatalyst. In certain embodiments, cobalt is present in a proportion offrom about 0.1 to about 3% by weight of the catalyst.

In certain embodiments, the transition metal/carbon compositioncomprises iron and carbon and, in particular, iron carbide. Such ironcarbide typically has an empirical formula of, for example, FeC_(x)wherein x is typically from about 0.25 to about 4, more typically fromabout 0.25 to 2 and, still more typically, from about 0.25 to about 1.Typically, the total proportion of at least one iron carbide of suchstoichiometric formula (e.g., Fe₃C) is at least about 0.01% by weight ofthe catalyst. Typically, the total proportion of all iron carbides ofsuch empirical formulae is at least about 0.1% by weight of thecatalyst.

In such embodiments, iron is typically present in a proportion of atleast about 0.01% by weight of the catalyst and, more typically, atleast about 0.1% by weight of the catalyst. Preferably, iron is presentin a proportion of from about 0.1 to about 5% by weight of the catalyst,more preferably from about 0.2 to about 1.5% by weight of the catalystand, still more preferably, from about 0.5 to about 1% by weight of thecatalyst.

It should be understood that the description of transition metalcompositions containing iron and cobalt generally applies to transitionmetal compositions containing other transition metals (e.g., cerium)listed above.

In various embodiments, the transition metal composition includes atransition metal, nitrogen, and carbon. In certain embodiments, thetransition metal composition comprises cobalt, carbon, and nitrogen and,in particular, cobalt carbide and cobalt nitride having empiricalformula of CoC_(x) or CoN_(x), respectively, where x is typically fromabout 0.25 to about 4, more typically from about 0.25 to 2 and, stillmore typically, from about 0.25 to about 1.

Typically, a cobalt carbide and nitride having such an empirical formulaare each present in a proportion of at least about 0.01% by weight ofthe catalyst and, more typically, from about 0.1 to about 0.5% by weightof the catalyst. Typically, the total proportion of all cobalt carbidesof such empirical formula is at least about 0.1% by weight of thecatalyst while the total proportion of all cobalt nitrides of suchempirical formula is typically at least about 0.1% by weight of thecatalyst.

In such embodiments, cobalt is typically present in a proportion of atleast about 0.1% by weight of the catalyst, more typically at leastabout 0.5% by weight of the catalyst and, more typically, at least about1% by weight of the catalyst. Preferably, cobalt is present in aproportion of from about 0.5 to about 10% by weight of the catalyst,more preferably from about 1 to about 2% by weight of the catalyst and,still more preferably, from about 1 to about 1.5% by weight of thecatalyst. In certain embodiments, cobalt is present in a proportion offrom about 0.1 to about 3% by weight of the catalyst. Further inaccordance with such embodiments, nitrogen is typically present in aproportion of at least about 0.1% by weight of the catalyst and, moretypically, in a proportion of from about 0.5 to about 2% by weight ofthe catalyst.

In certain embodiments, the transition metal composition comprises iron,carbon, and nitrogen and, in particular, iron carbide and iron nitridehaving empirical formula of FeC_(x) or FeN_(x), respectively, where x istypically from about 0.25 to about 4, more typically from about 0.25 to2 and, still more typically, from about 0.25 to about 1. For example,Fe₃C may be present and, additionally or alternatively, FeN may also bepresent.

Typically, an iron carbide and nitride having such an empirical formulaare each present in a proportion of at least about 0.01% by weight ofthe catalyst and, more typically, from about 0.1 to about 0.5% by weightof the catalyst. Typically, the total proportion of all iron carbides ofsuch empirical formula is at least about 0.1% by weight of the catalystwhile the total proportion of all iron nitrides of such empiricalformula is typically at least about 0.1% by weight of the catalyst.

In such embodiments, iron is typically present in a proportion of atleast about 0.1% by weight of the catalyst, more typically at leastabout 0.5% by weight of the catalyst and, more typically, at least about1% by weight of the catalyst. Preferably, iron is present in aproportion of from about 0.5 to about 10% by weight of the catalyst,more preferably from about 1 to about 2% by weight of the catalyst and,still more preferably, from about 1 to about 1.5% by weight of thecatalyst. In certain embodiments, iron is present in a proportion offrom about 0.1 to about 3% by weight of the catalyst. Further inaccordance with such embodiments, nitrogen is typically present in aproportion of at least about 0.1% by weight of the catalyst and, moretypically, in a proportion of from about 0.5 to about 2% by weight ofthe catalyst.

In various other embodiments the transition metal composition comprisinga transition metal, carbon, and nitrogen may include a transition metalcarbide-nitride composition (e.g., cobalt carbide-nitride). For example,the transition metal composition may include cobalt carbide-nitride. Insuch embodiments, cobalt is typically present in a proportion of atleast about 0.1% by weight of the catalyst, more typically at leastabout 0.5% by weight of the catalyst and, still more typically, at leastabout 1% by weight of the catalyst. Preferably, cobalt is present in aproportion of from about 0.5 to about 10% by weight of the catalyst,more preferably from about, more preferably from about 1 to about 2% byweight of the catalyst and, still more preferably, from about 1 to about1.5% by weight of the catalyst. In certain embodiments, the cobaltcarbide-nitride may be present in a proportion of from about 0.1 toabout 3% by weight of the catalyst. Further in accordance with suchembodiments, nitrogen is typically present in a proportion of at leastabout 0.1% by weight of the catalyst and, more typically, in aproportion of from about 0.5 to about 2% by weight of the catalyst.

In various embodiments, the catalyst may comprise cobalt carbide, cobaltnitride, and cobalt carbide-nitride. In such embodiments, typically thetotal proportion of such carbide(s), nitride(s), and carbide-nitride(s)is at least about 0.1% by weight of the catalyst and, still moretypically, from about 0.1 to about 20% by weight of the catalyst.

In various other embodiments, the transition metal composition mayinclude iron carbide-nitride. In such embodiments, iron is typicallypresent in a proportion of at least about 0.1% by weight of thecatalyst, more typically at least about 0.2% by weight of the catalyst,still more typically at least about 0.5% by weight of the catalyst and,even more typically, at least about 1% by weight of the catalyst.Preferably, iron is present in a proportion of from about 0.1 to about5% by weight of the catalyst, more preferably from about 0.1 to about 3%by weight of the catalyst, more preferably from about 0.2 to about 2% byweight of the catalyst and, still more preferably, from about 0.5 toabout 1.5% by weight of the catalyst. Further in accordance with suchembodiments, nitrogen is typically present in a proportion of at leastabout 0.1% by weight of the catalyst and, more typically, in aproportion of from about 0.5 to about 2% by weight of the catalyst.

In various embodiments, the catalyst may comprise iron carbide, ironnitride, and iron carbide-nitride. In such embodiments, typically thetotal proportion of such carbide(s), nitride(s), and carbide-nitride(s)is at least about 0.1% by weight of the catalyst and, still moretypically, from about 0.1 to about 20% by weight of the catalyst.

In various other embodiments the transition metal composition comprisesnickel cobalt-nitride, vanadium cobalt-nitride, chromium cobalt-nitride,manganese cobalt-nitride, copper cobalt-nitride, molybdenumcarbide-nitride, and tungsten carbide-nitride.

Further in accordance with the present invention, the transition metalcomposition may include a plurality of transition metals selected fromthe group consisting of Group IB, Group VB, Group VIB, Group VIIB, GroupVIII, lanthanide series metals, and combinations thereof. In particular,the transition metal composition may include a plurality of transitionmetals selected from the group consisting of copper, silver, vanadium,chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel,ruthenium and cerium. For example, the transition metal composition maycomprise cobalt-cerium nitride, cobalt-cerium carbide, and/orcobalt-cerium carbide-nitride. Other bi-metallic carbide-nitridespresent in transition metal compositions in accordance with the presentinvention may be in the form of cobalt-iron carbide-nitride orcobalt-copper carbide-nitride. One of such bi-transition metalcompositions (e.g., a bi-transition metal nitride) may be present in atotal proportion of at least about 0.1% by weight and, more typically,in a proportion of from about 0.1 to about 20% by weight of thecatalyst. One or more of such bi-transition metal compositions (e.g.,nitride, carbide, and/or carbide-nitride) may be present in a totalproportion of at least about 0.1% by weight and, more typically, in aproportion of from about 0.1 to about 20% by weight of the catalyst.

In certain embodiments, the transition metal composition formed on thecarbon support generally comprises either or both of a compositioncomprising a transition metal and carbon (i.e., a transitionmetal/carbon composition) or a composition comprising a transition metaland nitrogen (i.e., a transition metal/nitrogen composition) in whichthe transition metal is selected from molybdenum and tungsten.Transition metal compositions formed on a carbon support containingmolybdenum or tungsten are useful as oxidation catalysts; however, theyare particularly useful as a modified carbon support for adehydrogenation catalyst.

Thus, in certain of these embodiments, the transition metal/carboncomposition comprises molybdenum and carbon and, in a preferredembodiment, comprises molybdenum carbide. Typically, molybdenum carbideformed on the carbon support as part of the transition metal compositioncomprises a compound having a stoichiometric formula of Mo₂C. In otherembodiments, the transition metal/carbon composition comprises tungstenand carbon and, in a preferred embodiment, comprises tungsten carbide.Typically, tungsten carbide formed on the carbon support as part of thetransition metal composition comprises a compound having astoichiometric formula of WC or W₂C.

Similarly, transition metal/nitrogen compositions may comprisemolybdenum and nitrogen and, in a preferred embodiment, comprisesmolybdenum nitride. Typically, any molybdenum nitride formed on thecarbon support as part of the transition metal composition comprises acompound having a stoichiometric formula of Mo₂N. Transitionmetal/nitrogen compositions formed on the carbon support may comprisetungsten and nitrogen and, in a preferred embodiment, comprises tungstennitride. Typically, any tungsten nitride formed on the carbon support aspart of the transition metal composition comprises a compound having astoichiometric formula of W₂N.

In various embodiments including transition metal compositionscomprising either or both of a transition metal/carbon composition or atransition metal/nitrogen composition in which the transition metal isselected from molybdenum and tungsten, generally the transition metalcomposition comprises at least about 5% by weight of a catalystincluding a transition metal composition formed on a carbon support(i.e., a modified carbon support). Such modified carbon supports areparticularly useful as modified carbon supports for dehydrogenationcatalysts formed by depositing a metal-containing active phase on themodified carbon support. Typically, the transition metal compositioncomprises from about 5% to about 20% by weight of the catalyst, moretypically from about 10% to about 15% by weight of the catalyst, and,still more typically, from about 10% to about 12% by weight of thecatalyst. Generally, the transition metal component of the transitionmetal composition (i.e., molybdenum or tungsten and nitrogen and/orcarbon) comprises at least about 5% by weight of the catalyst.Preferably, the transition metal component of the transition metalcomposition comprises from about 8 to about 15% by weight of thecatalyst.

Transition metal compositions deposited on carbon supports in accordancewith the above discussion may be incorporated into catalysts furthercontaining a metal containing active phase deposited over a modifiedcarbon support including such transition metal compositions formed on acarbon support.

In processes for forming a transition metal composition on the carbonsupport, a precursor of the transition metal composition is first formedon the carbon support by contacting the carbon support with a sourcecompound comprising the transition metal to be deposited.

Generally, the source compound is in the form of a water-solubletransition metal salt selected from the group consisting of halides,sulfates, acetates, nitrates, ammonium salts, and combinations thereof.Typically, the source compound is in the form of a transition metal saltsuch as a transition metal halide. However, the selection of thetransition metal salt is not critical. For example, to produce atransition metal composition comprising iron, the source compound maycomprise an iron halide (e.g., FeCl₃), iron sulfate (e.g., FeSO₄), ironacetate, an ammonium salt of iron (e.g., (NH₄)₄Fe(CN)₆), or combinationsthereof. Similarly, to produce a transition metal composition comprisingcobalt, the source compound may comprise a cobalt halide (e.g., CoCl₂),cobalt sulfate (e.g., CoSO₄), cobalt acetate, or combinations thereof.Similarly, to produce a transition metal composition comprisingmolybdenum or tungsten, the molybdenum or tungsten-containing salts arepreferably water-soluble and generally selected from the sodium,potassium and ammonium salts. The salt may contain molybdenum as ananion, for example, in the form of ammonium molybdate ((NH₄)₂MoO₄ ⁻²) orsodium molybdate (Na₂MoO₄). In the case of a transition metalcomposition comprising tungsten, the transition metal salt may beselected from tungsten salts including, for example, sodium tungstateand tungstophosphoric acid.

To form the precursor, a source compound is contacted with the carbonsupport or a mixture may be prepared comprising the source compound, forexample an aqueous solution of a salt comprising the transition metal,and the carbon support is contacted with such mixture. Advantageously,this may be accomplished by preparing an aqueous slurry of a particulatecarbon support in a liquid medium (e.g., water), and adding to theslurry an aqueous solution containing the salt which comprises thetransition metal. Alternatively, an aqueous slurry containing theparticulate carbon support can be added to an aqueous solutioncontaining the salt comprising the transition metal.

The amount of source compound contacted with the carbon support orpresent in a slurry contacted with the carbon support is not narrowlycritical. Overall, a suitable amount of source compound should be addedto any slurry containing the carbon support to provide sufficienttransition metal deposition. Typically, the source compound is added tothe carbon support slurry at a rate of at least about 0.00005moles/minute and, more typically, at a rate of from about 0.00005 toabout 0.0005 moles/minute. Typically, the source compound is present ina suspension or slurry containing the source compound and a liquidmedium in a proportion of at least about 0.01 g/liter and, moretypically, from about 0.1 to about 10 g/liter. The carbon support istypically present in the suspension of slurry in a proportion of atleast about 1 g/liter and, more typically, from about 1 to about 50g/liter. Preferably, the source compound and carbon support are presentin the suspension or slurry at a weight ratio of transition metal/carbonin the range of from about 0.1 to about 20. More preferably, the sourcecompound and carbon support are present in the suspension or slurry at aweight ratio of transition metal/carbon in the range of from about 0.5to about 10.

The rate of addition of the transition metal-containing salt to a slurrycontaining the carbon support is not narrowly critical but, generally,is at least about 0.05 L/hour per L slurry (0.01 gal./hour per gal. ofslurry) of salt is added to the slurry. Preferably, from about 0.05L/hour per L slurry (0.01 gal./hour per gal. of slurry) to about 0.4L/hour per L slurry (0.1 gal./hour per gal. of slurry) and, morepreferably, from about 0.1 L/hour per L of slurry (0.026 gal./hour pergal. of slurry) to about 0.2 L/hour per L of slurry (0.052 gal./hour pergal. of slurry) of salt is added to the slurry containing the carbonsupport.

In certain embodiments in which the transition metal composition formedon the carbon support includes either or both of a compositioncomprising molybdenum or tungsten and carbon or a composition comprisingmolybdenum or tungsten and nitrogen, the method of precursor depositiongenerally proceeds in accordance with the above discussion. Typically,an aqueous solution of a salt containing molybdenum or tungsten is addedto an aqueous slurry of a particulate carbon support. Typically, thesalt is added to the carbon support slurry at a rate of at least about0.00005 moles/minute and, more typically, at a rate of from about0.00005 to about 0.0005 moles/minute. Typically, the salt is present ina suspension or slurry containing the salt and a liquid medium in aproportion of at least about 0.1 g/liter and, more typically, from about0.1 to about 5 g/liter. The carbon support is typically present in thesuspension of slurry in a proportion of at least about 1 g/liter and,more typically, from about 5 to about 20 g/liter. Preferably, themolybdenum or tungsten-containing salt and carbon support are present inthe suspension or slurry at a weight ratio of molybdenum/carbon ortungsten/carbon in the range of from about 0.1 to about 20. Morepreferably, the molybdenum or tungsten-containing salt and carbonsupport are present in the suspension or slurry at a weight ratio ofmolybdenum/carbon or tungsten/carbon in the range of from about 1 toabout 10. Generally, at least about 0.001 L of the molybdenum ortungsten-containing salt solution per gram of carbon support is added tothe slurry. Preferably, from about 0.001 L to about 0.05 L transitionmetal salt per gram of carbon support is added to the slurry. The saltis typically present in the aqueous medium in such concentrations at theoutset of precursor deposition in which a carbon support slurry is addedto a solution or suspension containing the source compound.Alternatively, such concentrations of source compound generallyrepresent the cumulative total of source compound added to the carbonsupport slurry in those embodiments in which the solution or suspensionof source compound is added to the carbon support slurry.

The rate of addition of the molybdenum or tungsten-containing salt tothe slurry in such embodiments is not narrowly critical but, generally,is at least about 0.05 L/hour per L slurry (0.01 gal./hour per gal. ofslurry) of salt is added to the slurry. Preferably, from about 0.05L/hour per L slurry (0.01 gal./hour per gal. of slurry) to about 0.4L/hour per L slurry (0.1 gal./hour per gal. of slurry) and, morepreferably, from about 0.1 L/hour per L of slurry (0.026 gal./hour pergal. of slurry) to about 0.2 L/hour per L of slurry (0.052 gal./hour pergal. of slurry) of salt is added to the slurry.

It is believed that the pH of the transition metal salt and carbonsupport mixture relative to the zero charge point of carbon (i.e., inmixtures having pH of 3, for example, carbon exhibits a charge of zerowhereas in mixtures having a pH greater than 3 or less than 3 carbonexhibits a negative charge and positive charge, respectively) may affecttransition metal-containing precursor formation. A transition metal salthaving a metal component (e.g., molybdenum) exhibiting a positive ornegative charge may be selected to provide bonding between the carbonand the metal based on the pH of the support slurry. For example, in thecase of ammonium molybdate, the majority of the molybdenum will exist asMoO₄ ²⁻, regardless of pH. However, the pH of the slurry may affectadsorption of MoO₄ ²⁻ on the carbon surface. For example, when thecarbon in the slurry has a zero charge point at pH 3, a greaterproportion of MoO₄ ²⁻ will be adsorbed on the carbon in a slurry havinga pH 2 than would be adsorbed in a slurry having a pH of 5. In the caseof ammonium tungstate or ammonium molybdate in a slurry having a pH offrom about 2 to about 3, substantially all of the transition metal isadsorbed on the carbon support (i.e., less than about 0.001% of thetransition metal remains in the salt solution). The pH of the slurry maybe controlled by addition of an acid or base either concurrently withthe transition metal salt or after addition of the transition metal saltto the slurry is complete.

Alternatively, the pH of the slurry of the source compound and carbonsupport and, accordingly, the charge of the carbon support may becontrolled depending on whether the transition metal component ispresent as the cation or anion of the source compound. Thus, when thetransition metal is present as the cation of the source compound the pHof the slurry is preferably maintained above 3 to promote adsorption oftransition metal on the carbon support surface. In certain embodiments,the pH of the liquid medium is maintained at 7.5 or above.

In various embodiments, transition metal is present in the sourcecompound as the cation (e.g., FeCl₃ or CoCl₂). As the pH of the liquidmedium increases, the transition metal cation of the source compoundbecomes partially hydrolyzed. For example, in the case of FeCl₃, ironhydroxide ions such as Fe(OH)₂ ⁺¹ or Fe(OH)⁺² may form and such ions areadsorbed onto the negatively charged carbon support surface. Preferably,the ions diffuse into the pores and are adsorbed and dispersedthroughout the surface of the carbon support, including within thesurfaces of pores. However, if the pH of the liquid medium is increasedtoo rapidly, iron hydroxide (Fe(OH)₃) will precipitate in the liquidmedium and conversion of the iron ions to neutral iron hydroxide removesthe electrostatic attraction between iron and the carbon support surfaceand reduces deposition of iron on the support surface. Precipitation ofiron hydroxide into the liquid medium may also impede dispersion of ironions throughout the pores of the carbon support surface. Thus,preferably the pH of the liquid medium is controlled to avoid rapidprecipitation of transition metal hydroxides before the occurrence ofsufficient deposition of transition metal onto the carbon supportsurface by virtue of the electrostatic attraction between transitionmetal ions and the carbon support surface. After sufficient depositionof iron onto the carbon support surface, the pH of the liquid medium maybe increased at a greater rate since a reduced proportion of ironremains in the bulk liquid phase.

The temperature of the liquid medium also affects the rate ofprecipitation of transition metal, and the attendant deposition oftransition metal onto the carbon support. Generally, the rate ofprecipitation increases as the temperature of the medium increases.Typically, the temperature of the liquid medium during introduction ofthe source compound is maintained in a range from about 10 to about 30°C. and, more typically, from about 20 to about 25° C.

Further in accordance with embodiments in which the transition metal ispresent as the cation of the source compound, after addition of thesource compound to the liquid medium is complete, both the pH andtemperature of the liquid medium may be increased. In certainembodiments, the pH of the liquid medium is increased to at least about8.5, in others to at least about 9.0 and, in still other embodiments, toat least about 9.0. Generally, the temperature of the liquid medium isincreased to at least about 40° C., more generally to at least about 45°C. and, still more generally, to at least about 50° C. Typically, thetemperature is increased at a rate of from about 0.5 to about 10° C./minand, more typically, from about 1 to about 5° C./min.

After an increase of the temperature and/or pH of the liquid medium,typically the medium is maintained under these conditions for a suitableperiod to time to allow for sufficient deposition of transition metalonto the carbon support surface. Typically, the liquid medium ismaintained at such conditions for at least about 2 minutes, moretypically at least about 5 minutes and, still more typically, at leastabout 10 minutes.

In certain embodiments, the temperature of the liquid medium is about25° C. and the pH of the liquid medium is maintained at from about 7.5to about 8.0 during addition of the source compound. After addition ofthe source compound is complete, the liquid medium is agitated bystirring for from about 25 to about 35 minutes while its pH ismaintained at from about 7.5 to about 8.5. The temperature of the liquidmedium is then increased to a temperature of from about 40 to about 50°C. at a rate of from about 1 to about 5° C./min while the pH of theliquid medium is maintained at from about 7.5 to about 8.5. The mediumis then agitated by stirring for from about 15 to about 25 minutes whilethe temperature of the liquid medium is maintained at from about 40 toabout 50° C. and the pH at from about 7.5 to about 8.0. The slurry isthen heated to a temperature of from about 50 to about 55° C. and its pHadjusted to from about 8.5 to about 9.0, with these conditions beingmaintained for approximately 15 to 25 minutes. Finally, the slurry isheated to a temperature of from about 55 to about 65° C. and its pHadjusted to from about 9.0 to about 9.5, with these conditionsmaintained for approximately 10 minutes.

Regardless of the presence of the transition metal in the sourcecompound as an anion or cation, to promote contact of the support withthe transition metal source compound, and mass transfer from the liquidphase, the slurry may be agitated concurrently with additions of sourcecompound to the slurry or after addition of the transition metal salt tothe slurry is complete. The liquid medium may likewise be agitated priorto, during, or after operations directed to increasing its temperatureand/or pH. Suitable means for agitation include, for example, bystirring or shaking the slurry.

For transition metal compositions comprising a plurality of metals,typically a single source compound comprising all of the metals, or aplurality of source compounds each containing at least one of the metalsis contacted with the carbon support in accordance with the precedingdiscussion. Deposition of precursors of the component transition metalsmay be carried out concurrently (i.e., contacting the carbon supportwith a plurality of source compounds, each containing a transition metalfor deposition of a precursor) or sequentially (deposition of oneprecursor followed by deposition of one or more additional precursors)in accordance with the above discussion.

After the transition metal salt has contacted the support for a timesufficient to ensure sufficient deposition of the source compound(s)and/or formation of its(their) derivative(s), the slurry is filtered,the support is washed with an aqueous solution and allowed to dry.Typically, the salt contacts the support for at least about 0.5 hoursand, more typically, from about 0.5 to about 5 hours. Generally, theimpregnated support is allowed to dry for at least about 2 hours.Preferably, the impregnated support is allowed to dry for from about 5to about 12 hours. Drying may be accelerated by contacting theimpregnated carbon support with air at temperatures generally from about80 to about 150° C.

A source compound or derivative may also be formed on the carbon supportby vapor deposition methods in which the carbon support is contactedwith a mixture comprising a vapor phase source of a transition metal. Inchemical vapor deposition the carbon support is contacted with avolatile metal compound generally selected from the group consisting ofhalides, carbonyls, and organometallic compounds which decomposes toproduce a transition metal suitable for formation on the carbon support.Examples of suitable metal carbonyl compounds include Mo(CO)₆, W(CO)₆,Fe(CO)₅, and Co(CO)₄.

Decomposition of the compound generally occurs by subjecting thecompound to light or heat. In the case of decomposition using heat,temperatures of at least about 100° C. are typically required for thedecomposition.

It may be noted that the precursor compound may be the same as thesource compound, or it may differ as a result of chemical transformationoccurring during the process of deposition and/or otherwise prior tocontact with a nitrogen-containing compound, carbon-containing compound(e.g., a hydrocarbon), or nitrogen and carbon-containing compound. Forexample, where a porous carbon support is impregnated with an aqueoussolution of a source compound comprising ammonium molybdate, theprecursor is ordinarily the same as the source compound. But where vapordeposition techniques are used with a source compound such as amolybdenum halide, the precursor formed may be metallic molybdenum ormolybdenum oxide.

Regardless of the method for formation of the source compound or itsderivative on the carbon support, in certain embodiments the pretreatedcarbon support is then subjected to further treatment (e.g., temperatureprogrammed treatment) to form a transition metal composition comprisinga transition metal and nitrogen, a transition metal and carbon, or atransition metal, nitrogen, and carbon on the carbon support. Generally,the pretreated carbon support is contacted with a nitrogen-containing,carbon-containing, or nitrogen and carbon-containing compound undercertain conditions (e.g, elevated temperature). Generally, a fixed orfluidized bed comprising carbon support having the precursor depositedthereon is contacted with a nitrogen and/or carbon-containing compound.Preferably, the carbon support is established in a fixed bed reactor anda vapor-phase nitrogen-containing, carbon-containing, or nitrogen andcarbon-containing compound is contacted with the support by passage overand/or through the bed of carbon support.

When a transition metal composition comprising a transition metal andnitrogen is desired, typically the pretreated carbon support iscontacted with any of a variety of nitrogen-containing compounds whichmay include ammonia, an amine, a nitrile, a nitrogen-containingheterocyclic compound, or combinations thereof. Such nitrogen-containingcompounds are typically selected from the group consisting of ammonia,dimethylamine, ethylenediamine, isopropylamine, butylamine, melamine,acetonitrile, propionitrile, picolonitrile, pyridine, pyrrole, andcombinations thereof.

Typically, the carbon support having a precursor of the transition metalcomposition deposited thereon is contacted with a nitriding atmospherewhich comprises a vapor phase nitrogen-containing compound as set forthabove. In a preferred embodiment, the nitrogen-containing compoundcomprises acetonitrile. Typically, the nitriding atmosphere comprises atleast about 5% by volume of nitrogen-containing compound and, moretypically, from about 5 to about 20% by volume of thenitrogen-containing compound. Generally, at least about 100 liters ofnitrogen-containing compound per kg of carbon per hour (at least about3.50 ft³ of carbon-containing compound per lb of carbon per hour) arecontacted with the carbon support. Preferably, from about 200 to about500 liters of nitrogen-containing compound per kg of carbon per hour(from about 7.0 to about 17.7 ft³ of carbon-containing compound per lbof carbon per hour) are contacted with the carbon support.

The nitriding atmosphere optionally includes additional componentsselected from the group consisting of hydrogen and inert gases such asargon. Hydrogen, where present, generally may be present in a proportionof at least about 1% by volume hydrogen or, more generally, from about 1to about 10% by volume hydrogen. Additionally or alternatively, thenitriding atmosphere typically comprises at least about 75% by volumeargon and, more typically, from about 75 to about 95% by volume argon.In certain embodiments, the nitriding atmosphere comprises at leastabout 10 liters of hydrogen per kg of carbon support per hour (at leastabout 0.35 ft³ of hydrogen per lb of carbon support). Preferably, such anitriding atmosphere comprises from about 30 to about 50 liters ofhydrogen per kg of carbon support per hour (from about 1.05 to about 1.8ft³ of hydrogen per lb of carbon support per hour). In various otherembodiments, the nitriding atmosphere comprises at least about 900liters of argon per kg of carbon support per hour (at least about 31.5ft³ of argon per lb of carbon support). Preferably, such a nitridingatmosphere comprises from about 1800 to about 4500 liters of argon perkg of carbon support per hour (from about 63 to about 160 ft³ of argonper lb of carbon support per hour). In further embodiments, thenitriding atmosphere comprises at least about 10 liters of hydrogen perkg of carbon support per hour (at least about 0.35 ft³ of hydrogen perlb of carbon support) and at least about 900 liters of argon per kg ofcarbon support per hour (at least about 31.5 ft³ of argon per lb ofcarbon support).

The carbon support having a precursor of the transition metalcomposition thereon is typically contacted with the nitrogen-containingcompound in a nitride reaction zone under a total pressure of no greaterthan about 15 psig. Typically, the nitride reaction zone is under apressure of from about 2 to about 15 psig. The nitrogen-containingcompound partial pressure of the nitride reaction zone is typically nogreater than about 2 psig and, more typically, from about 1 to about 2psig. The partial pressure of any hydrogen present in the nitriding zoneis typically less than about 1 psig and, more typically, from about 0.1to about 1 psig.

When a transition metal composition comprising a transition metal andcarbon is desired, typically the pretreated carbon support is contactedwith a carbiding atmosphere containing a carbon-containing compoundincluding, for example, hydrocarbons such as methane, ethane, propane,butane, and pentane.

Typically, the carbon support having a precursor of the transition metalcomposition deposited thereon is contacted with a carbiding atmospherewhich comprises a vapor phase carbon-containing compound. In a preferredembodiment, the carbon-containing compound comprises methane. Typically,the carbiding atmosphere comprises at least about 5% by volume ofcarbon-containing compound and, more typically, from about 5 to about50% by volume of the carbon-containing compound. Generally, at leastabout 100 liters of carbon-containing compound per kg of carbon per hour(at least about 3.50 ft³ of carbon-containing compound per lb of carbonper hour) are contacted with the carbon support. Preferably, from about200 to about 500 liters of carbon-containing compound per kg of carbonper hour (from about 7.0 to about 17.7 ft³ of carbon-containing compoundper lb of carbon per hour) are contacted with the carbon support.

The carbiding atmosphere optionally includes additional componentsselected from the group consisting of hydrogen and inert gases such asargon and nitrogen. Hydrogen, where present, generally is present in aproportion of at least about 1% by volume or, more generally, from about1 to about 50% by volume. In certain embodiments, the carbidingatmosphere comprises at least about 10 liters of hydrogen per kg ofcarbon support per hour (at least about 0.35 ft³ of hydrogen per lb ofcarbon support). Preferably, such a carbiding atmosphere comprises fromabout 30 to about 50 liters of hydrogen per kg of carbon support perhour (from about 1.05 to about 1.8 ft³ of hydrogen per lb of carbonsupport per hour).

In various other embodiments, the carbiding atmosphere comprises atleast about 900 liters of argon per kg of carbon support per hour (atleast about 31.5 ft³ of argon per lb of carbon support). Preferably,such a carbiding atmosphere comprises from about 1800 to about 4500liters of argon per kg of carbon support per hour (from about 63 toabout 160 ft³ of argon per lb of carbon support per hour).

In further embodiments, the carbiding atmosphere comprises at leastabout 10 liters of hydrogen per kg of carbon support per hour (at leastabout 0.35 ft³ of hydrogen per lb of carbon support) and at least about900 liters of argon per kg of carbon support per hour (at least about31.5 ft³ of argon per lb of carbon support).

In various other embodiments, the carbiding atmosphere comprises atleast about 900 liters of nitrogen per kg of carbon support per hour (atleast about 31.5 ft³ of nitrogen per lb of carbon support). Preferably,such a carbiding atmosphere comprises from about 1800 to about 4500liters of nitrogen per kg of carbon support per hour (from about 63 toabout 160 ft³ of nitrogen per lb of carbon support per hour).

The carbon support having a precursor of the transition metalcomposition thereon is typically contacted with the carbon-containingcompound in a carbide reaction zone under a total pressure of no greaterthan about 15 psig. Typically, the carbide reaction zone is under apressure of from about 2 to about 15 psig. The carbon-containingcompound partial pressure of the carbide reaction zone is typically nogreater than about 2 psig and, more typically, from about 1 to about 2psig. The partial pressure of any hydrogen present in the carbidereaction zone is typically less than about 2 psig and, more typically,from about 0.1 to about 2 psig.

In certain embodiments, the pretreated carbon support, having aprecursor transition metal compound thereon, may be treated to form atransition metal composition comprising both carbon and nitrogen and thetransition metal on the carbon support. In such embodiments, theprecursor compound on the support may be contacted with a“carbiding-nitriding atmosphere.” One method involves contacting thepretreated carbon support with a carbon and nitrogen-containingcompound. Suitable carbon and nitrogen-containing compounds includeamines, nitrites, nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds, orcombinations thereof. Such carbon and nitrogen-containing compounds aregenerally selected from the group consisting of dimethylamine,ethylenediamine, isopropylamine, butylamine, melamine, acetonitrile,propionitrile, picolonitrile, pyridine, pyrrole, and combinationsthereof.

Typically, the carbon support having a precursor of the transition metalcomposition deposited thereon is contacted with a carbiding-nitridingatmosphere which comprises a vapor phase carbon and nitrogen-containingcompound. Typically, the carbiding-nitriding atmosphere comprises atleast about 5% by volume of carbon and nitrogen-containing compound and,more typically, from about 5 to about 20% by volume of the carbon andnitrogen-containing compound. Generally, at least about 100 liters ofcarbon and nitrogen-containing compound per kg of carbon per hour (atleast about 3.50 ft³ of carbon and nitrogen-containing compound per lbof carbon per hour) are contacted with the carbon support. Preferably,from about 200 to about 500 liters of carbon and nitrogen-containingcompound per kg of carbon per hour (from about 7.0 to about 17.7 ft³ ofcarbon and nitrogen-containing compound per lb of carbon per hour) arecontacted with the carbon support.

The carbiding-nitriding atmosphere optionally includes additionalcomponents selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and inertgases such as argon. Hydrogen, where present, is generally present in aproportion of at least about 1% by volume or, more generally, from about1 to about 5% by volume. In certain embodiments, the carbiding-nitridingatmosphere comprises at least about 10 liters of hydrogen per kg ofcarbon support per hour (at least about 0.35 ft³ of hydrogen per lb ofcarbon support). Preferably, such a carbiding-nitriding atmospherecomprises from about 30 to about 50 liters of hydrogen per kg of carbonsupport per hour (from about 1.05 to about 1.8 ft³ of hydrogen per lb ofcarbon support per hour).

In various other embodiments, the carbiding-nitriding atmospherecomprises at least about 900 liters of argon per kg of carbon supportper hour (at least about 31.5 ft³ of argon per lb of carbon support).Preferably, such a carbiding-nitriding atmosphere comprises from about1800 to about 4500 liters of argon per kg of carbon support per hour(from about 63 to about 160 ft³ of argon per lb of carbon support perhour).

In further embodiments, the carbiding-nitriding atmosphere comprises atleast about 10 liters of hydrogen per kg of carbon support per hour (atleast about 0.35 ft³ of hydrogen per lb of carbon support) and at leastabout 900 liters of argon per kg of carbon support per hour (at leastabout 31.5 ft³ of argon per lb of carbon support).

The carbon support having a precursor of the transition metalcomposition thereon is typically contacted with the carbon andnitrogen-containing compound in a carbide-nitride reaction zone under atotal pressure of no greater than about 15 psig. Typically, thecarbide-nitride reaction zone is under a pressure of from about 2 toabout 15 psig. The carbon and nitrogen-containing compound partialpressure of the carbide-nitride reaction zone is typically no greaterthan about 2 psig and, more typically, from about 1 to about 2 psig. Thepartial pressure of any hydrogen present in the carbide-nitride reactionzone is typically less than about 1 psig and, more typically, from about0.1 to about 1 psig.

Additionally or alternatively, a transition metal composition comprisinga transition metal, carbon, and nitrogen may be formed by contacting thesupport and precursor with a nitrogen-containing compound as describedabove with the carbon of the transition metal composition derived fromthe supporting structure.

In further embodiments, the support and precursor of the transitionmetal composition may be contacted with a nitrogen-containing compound(e.g., ammonia) and a carbon-containing compound (e.g., methane) as setforth above to form a transition metal composition comprising atransition metal, carbon, and nitrogen on the carbon support.

In still further embodiments the carbon support is contacted with acompound comprising a transition metal, nitrogen, and carbon to form aprecursor of the transition metal composition thereon (i.e., the sourcecompound and carbon and nitrogen-containing compound are provided by onecomposition) and heated in accordance with the following description toform a transition metal composition comprising a transition metal,nitrogen, and carbon on a carbon support. Typically, such compositionscomprise a co-ordination complex comprising nitrogen-containing organicligands including, for example, nitrogen-containing organic ligandsincluding five or six membered heterocyclic rings comprising nitrogen.Generally, such ligands are selected from the group consisting ofporphyrins, porphyrin derivatives, polyacrylonitrile, phthalocyanines,pyrrole, substituted pyrroles, polypyrroles, pyridine, substitutedpyridines, bipyridyls, phthalocyanines, imidazole, substitutedimadazoles, pyrimidine, substituted pyrimidines, acetonitrile,o-phenylenediamines, bipyridines, salen ligands, p-phenylenediamines,cyclams, and combinations thereof. In certain embodiments, theco-ordination complex comprises phthalocyanine (e.g., a transition metalphthalocyanine) or a phthalocyanine derivative. Certain of theseco-ordination complexes are also described in parent application U.S.Ser. No. 10/366,947, the entire disclosures of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

To deposit the transition metal composition precursor in suchembodiments, typically a suspension is prepared comprising the carbonsupport and the co-ordination complex which is agitated for a timesufficient for adsorption of the co-ordination compound on the carbonsupport. Typically, the suspension contains the carbon support in aproportion of from about 5 to about 20 g/liter and the co-ordinationcompound in a proportion of from about 2 to about 5. Preferably, thecarbon support and co-ordination compound are present in a weight ratioof from about 2 to about 5 and, more preferably, from about 3 to about4.

Formation of a transition metal composition on the carbon supportproceeds by heating the support and precursor in the presence of anatmosphere described above (i.e., in the presence of anitrogen-containing, carbon-containing, or nitrogen andcarbon-containing compound). Typically, the carbon support having theprecursor thereon is heated using any of a variety of means known in theart including, for example, an electrical resistance furnace or aninduction furnace.

Generally, the transition metal composition precursor may contain atransition metal salt, partially hydrolyzed transition metal, and/or atransition metal oxide. For example, in the case of iron, the precursormay comprise FeCl₃, Fe(OH)₃, Fe(OH)₂ ⁺¹, Fe(OH)⁺², and/or Fe₂O₃.Generally, heating the carbon support having a precursor of thetransition metal composition thereon forms the transition metalcomposition by providing the energy necessary to replace the bondbetween the transition metal and the other component of the precursorcomposition(s) with a bond between the transition metal and nitrogen,carbon, or carbon and nitrogen. Additionally or alternatively, thetransition metal composition may be formed by reduction of transitionmetal oxide to transition metal which combines with the carbon and/ornitrogen of the composition present in the nitriding, carbiding, orcarbiding-nitriding atmosphere with which the carbon support iscontacted to form the transition metal composition.

Typically, the support is heated to a temperature of at least about 400°C., more typically to a temperature of at least about 600° C., moretypically to a temperature of at least about 700° C., still moretypically to a temperature of at least about 800° C. and, even moretypically, to a temperature of at least about 850° C. to produce thetransition metal composition.

The maximum temperature to which the support is heated is not narrowlycritical as long as it is sufficient to produce a transition metalnitride, transition metal carbide, or transition metal carbide-nitride.The support can be heated to temperature of about 1000° C. or totemperatures greater than 1000° C., greater than 1250° C., or up toabout 1500° C. It has been observed, however, that graphitization of thecarbon support may occur if the support is heated to temperatures above900° C. or above 1000° C. Graphitization may have a detrimental effecton the activity of the catalyst. Thus, preferably, the support is heatedto a temperature of no greater than about 1000° C. However, activecatalysts can be prepared by heating the support and precursor totemperatures in excess of 1000° C., regardless of any graphitizationwhich may occur. Preferably, the support is heated to a temperature offrom about 400° C. to about 1200° C., more preferably from about 600° C.to about 1100° C., more preferably from about 600° C. to about 1000° C.,more preferably from about 600 to about 975° C., more preferably fromabout 700 to about 975° C., even more preferably from about 800 to about975° C., still more preferably from about 850 to about 975° C. andespecially to a temperature of from about 850° C. to about 950° C.

In the case of a carbiding atmosphere comprising a hydrocarbon (e.g.,methane), it has been observed that heating the carbon support totemperatures above 700° C. may cause polymeric carbon to form on thecarbon support. Thus, in certain embodiments in which a transition metalcomposition comprising a transition metal and carbon is desired, it maybe preferable to form such a composition by heating the support totemperatures of from about 600 to about 700° C. However, it should beunderstood that formation of a transition metal composition comprising atransition metal and carbon proceeds at temperatures above 700° C. andsuch a method produces suitable modified carbon supports for use inaccordance with the present invention provided T_(max) is sufficient forcarbide formation (e.g., at least 500° C. or at least 600° C.).

The rate of heating is likewise not narrowly critical. Typically, thesupport having a precursor deposited thereon is heated at a rate of atleast about 2° C./minute, more typically at least about 5° C./minute,still more typically at least about 10° C./minute and, even moretypically, at a rate of at least about 12° C./minute. Generally, thesupport having a precursor deposited thereon is heated at a rate of fromabout 2 to about 15° C./minute and, more generally, at a rate of fromabout 5 to about 15° C./minute.

A carbon support having a transition metal/nitrogen and/or transitionmetal/carbon composition formed thereon may serve as a modified carbonsupport for a metal-containing active phase effective for promoting thedehydrogenation of an alcohol. In various embodiments, themetal-containing active phase comprises copper.

In certain embodiments of the present invention it may be desired toform a transition metal composition comprising carbon or nitrogen (i.e.,a transition metal carbide or nitride) comprising molybdenum or tungsten(i.e., molybdenum carbide, tungsten carbide, molybdenum nitride, ortungsten nitride). One method for forming such carbides and nitridesinvolves temperature programmed reduction (TPR) which includescontacting the support and the transition metal precursor with acarbiding (i.e., carbon-containing) or nitriding (i.e.,nitrogen-containing) atmosphere under the conditions described below. Itshould be understood that the following discussion regarding formingmolybdenum and tungsten-containing transition metal compositions doesnot limit the discussion set forth above regarding forming catalyticallyactive transition metal compositions comprising at least one of numeroustransition metals (including molybdenum and tungsten).

In embodiments in which molybdenum carbide or tungsten carbide isdesired, typically, a carbiding atmosphere comprises a hydrocarbonhaving from 1 to 5 carbons. In a preferred embodiment, thecarbon-containing compound comprises methane. Typically, the carbidingatmosphere comprises at least about 5% by volume of carbon-containingcompound and, more typically, from about 5 to about 50% by volume of thecarbon-containing compound. Generally, at least about 100 liters ofcarbon-containing compound per kg of carbon per hour (at least about3.50 ft³ of carbon-containing compound per lb of carbon per hour) arecontacted with the carbon support. Preferably, from about 200 to about500 liters of carbon-containing compound per kg of carbon per hour (fromabout 7.0 to about 17.7 ft³ of carbon-containing compound per lb ofcarbon per hour) are contacted with the carbon support.

The carbiding atmosphere optionally includes additional componentsselected from the group consisting of hydrogen and inert gases such asargon or nitrogen. Hydrogen, where present, is generally present in aproportion of at least about 1% by volume hydrogen or, more generally,from about 1 to about 50% by volume hydrogen. In one such embodiment,the carbiding atmosphere comprises at least about 10 liters of hydrogenper kg of carbon support per hour (at least about 0.35 ft³ of hydrogenper lb of carbon support per hour). Preferably, such a carbidingatmosphere comprises from about 30 to about 50 liters of hydrogen per kgof carbon support per hour (from about 1.05 to about 1.8 ft³ of hydrogenper lb of carbon support per hour).

In such embodiments in which molybdenum nitride or tungsten nitride isdesired, a nitriding atmosphere generally comprises anitrogen-containing compound such as ammonia and may also include inertgases such as argon and nitrogen. Typically, the nitriding atmospherecomprises at least about 5% by volume of nitrogen-containing compoundand, more typically, from about 5 to about 20% by volume of thenitrogen-containing compound. Generally, at least about 100 liters ofnitrogen-containing compound per kg of carbon per hour (at least about3.50 ft³ of nitrogen-containing compound per lb of carbon) are contactedwith the carbon support. Preferably, from about 200 to about 500 litersof nitrogen-containing compound per kg of carbon per hour (from about7.1 to about 17.7 ft³ of nitrogen-containing compound per lb of carbonper hour) are contacted with the carbon support. Hydrogen, wherepresent, generally is present in a proportion of at least about 1% byvolume hydrogen or, more generally, from about 1 to about 5% by volumehydrogen.

In various embodiments in which a transition metal compositioncomprising molybdenum or tungsten is desired, the temperature of theatmosphere is increased to a temperature T₁ having a value of at leastabout 250° C., more typically 300° C., over a period of time, t₁.Preferably, the temperature of the atmosphere is increased to from about250 to about 350° C. and, more preferably, increased to from about 275to about 325° C. during t₁. This period of time (t₁) necessary forincreasing the temperature from T₀ to T₁ is generally at least about 5minutes. Typically, t₁ is from about 5 to about 30 minutes and, moretypically, from about 10 to about 15 minutes. The rate of temperatureincrease during t₁ is not narrowly critical and generally is less than150° C./min. Typically, the rate of temperature increase during t₁ isfrom about 10 to about 100° C./min and, more typically, from about 20 toabout 50° C.

During t₁ the source compound or derivative transition metal carbide ornitride may be transformed to an intermediate oxide formed on thesurface of the support. The intermediate oxide formed during t₁generally have an empirical formula of A_(x)O_(y) wherein A ismolybdenum or tungsten, depending on the desired make-up of thetransition metal composition. Typically, the ratio of x to y is at leastabout 0.33:1 and preferably from about 0.33:1 to about 1:1.

For example, in the formation of a transition metal compositioncomprising molybdenum, an oxide intermediate may be formed in accordancewith the following methods: $\begin{matrix}{Catalyst} \\{Precursor}\end{matrix}\quad\begin{matrix}\underset{\longrightarrow}{{{from}\quad 25{{{^\circ}C}.\quad t}\quad o\quad 300} - {400{{{^\circ}C}.\quad{in}}\quad t_{1}}} \\{H_{2}\text{/}{CH}_{4}\quad{Flow}}\end{matrix}\quad{Mo}\quad O_{3}\text{/}C$ $\begin{matrix}{Catalyst} \\{Precursor}\end{matrix}\quad\begin{matrix}\underset{\longrightarrow}{{{from}\quad 25{{{^\circ}C}\quad.\quad{to}}\quad 300} - {400{{{^\circ}C}\quad.\quad{in}}\quad t_{1}}} \\{{NH}_{3}\quad{Flow}}\end{matrix}\quad{Mo}\quad O_{3}\text{/}C$

Dehydrogenations which may be promoted by catalysts including a modifiedcarbon support (i.e., a carbon support having a transitionmetal/nitrogen and/or transition metal/carbon composition formedthereon) having a metal-containing (e.g., copper-containing) activephase deposited thereon are typically conducted in an alkalineenvironment. Transition metal oxide precursor unconverted to a carbideor nitride may react with an alkaline component of such adehydrogenation system or alkaline component of a metal plating solutionto form a transition metal salt due to the instability of the oxide,thus resulting in removal of transition metal from the surface of thecarbon support. For example, MoO₃ unconverted to molybdenum carbide mayreact with sodium hydroxide in accordance with the following:MoO₃+2NaOH→Na₂MoO₄+H₂O

Removal of the transition metal salt from the surface of the carbonsupport is undesired because it may compromise the catalytic propertiesof the transition metal composition as such, and/or result in reduceddeposition of a metal-containing active phase onto the transition metalcomposition.

Thus, in accordance with the above considerations, it is desired toconvert as great a proportion of any transition metal oxide formedduring a carbiding or nitriding operation as possible. Typically, atleast about 80% and, more typically, from about 80% to about 95% of thetransition metal oxide is converted to the transition metal composition.Preferably, no more than about 5% by weight of the oxide precursorremains unconverted, more preferably, no more than about 3% by weight ofthe oxide precursor remains unconverted and, still more preferably, nomore than about 1% by weight of the oxide precursor remains unconverted.

Considerations concerning the initial temperature (T₀), rate of increasefrom T₀ to T₁ (t₁), the value of T₁, and precursor formation aregenerally the same regarding formation of carbides and nitrides from theprecursor or intermediate oxide. However, the remainder of thetemperature programmed reduction method differs in certain importantrespects based on whether a carbide or nitride is desired.

The following discussion relates to preparation of modified carbonsupports which may serve as the support for a metal-containing activephase in a catalyst useful for promoting the dehydrogenation of analcohol. After the initial period of temperature increase, t₁, whichtypically results in formation of transition metal oxide precursor, thetemperature of a carbiding (i.e., carburization) atmosphere is elevatedfrom T₁ to a maximum temperature (T_(max)) during which time atransition metal carbide containing molybdenum or tungsten is formed onthe surface of the carbon support by reduction of the transition metaloxide precursor.

Typically, T_(max) is at least about 500° C., more typically at leastabout 600° C., still more typically at least about 700° C. and, evenmore typically, at least about 800° C. or at least about 850° C.Preferably, T_(max) is from about 600° C. to about 1000° C. and, morepreferably, from about 850° C. to about 950° C.

In the case of a carbiding atmosphere comprising a hydrocarbon (e.g.,methane), it has been observed that heating the carbon support totemperatures above 700° C. may cause polymeric carbon to form on thecarbon support. Thus, in certain embodiments in which a transition metalcomposition comprising a transition metal and carbon is desired, it maybe preferable to form such a composition by heating the support totemperatures of from about 600 to about 700° C. However, it should beunderstood that formation of a transition metal composition comprising atransition metal and carbon proceeds at temperatures above 700° C. andsuch a method produces suitable modified carbon supports for use inaccordance with the present invention provided T_(max) is sufficient forcarbide formation (e.g., at least 500° C. or at least 600° C.).

In certain embodiments for carbiding atmospheres comprising, forexample, methane, the precursor is heated to 650° C. at a rate of atleast about 2° C./min. While not narrowly critical, typically theprecursor is heated to T_(max) over a period of time (t₂) of at leastabout 10 minutes and, more typically, from about 15 to about 150 minutesand, still more typically, from about 30 to about 60 minutes. The rateat which the temperature increases from T₁ to T_(max) is not narrowlycritical but generally is at least about 2° C./min. Typically, this rateis from about 2 to about 40° C./min and, more typically, from about 5 toabout 10° C./min.

After the atmosphere contacting the oxide-containing precursor reachesT_(max), the temperature of the atmosphere is generally maintained atT_(max) for a time sufficient to ensure the desired reduction of thetransition metal oxide to form the transition metal carbide. Typically,this holding time at T_(max), t₃, during which the temperature remainsat T_(max) is at least about 1 hour and may be from about 1 to about 8hours; however, care is preferably taken to ensure that t₃ is not of aduration such that polymeric carbon forms on the carbon support inamounts that adversely affect catalyst activity. Preferably, t₃ is fromabout 1 to about 4 hours and, more preferably, from about 2 to about 3hours.

Generally, the intermediate transition metal oxide is contacted with thehydrocarbon under conditions which substantially avoid the production ofpolymeric carbon on the surface of the transition metal carbide.

The transition metal oxide is typically contacted with the hydrocarbonin a carbide reaction zone under a total pressure of no greater thanabout 15 psig. Typically, the carbide reaction zone is under a pressureof from about 2 to about 15 psig. The hydrocarbon partial pressure ofthe carbide reaction zone is typically no greater than about 2 psig and,more typically, from about 1 to about 2 psig.

Both T_(max) and the holding time at T_(max), t₃, directly affectcarbide formation with each condition being controlled in order toprovide sufficient carbide formation. However, ensuring that bothconditions are within a preferred range provides even more preferredconditions for carbide formation. Thus, in a particularly preferredembodiment, T_(max) is from about 625 to about 675° C. while t₃ is fromabout 2 to about 3 hours.

After the initial period of temperature increase, t₁, which typicallyresults in formation of a transition metal oxide, the temperature of anitriding (i.e., nitridation) atmosphere is elevated from T₁ to amaximum temperature (T_(max)) in order to form the transition metalnitride containing molybdenum or tungsten. In contrast to the methoddescribed above for carbide formation, the temperature of a nitridingatmosphere is then elevated from T₁ to a maximum temperature (T_(max))of at least about 700° C. to produce the nitride since it has beenobserved that at temperatures below 700° C. the nitride formation is notsubstantially complete. However, as the nitriding atmosphere approachestemperatures of from about 900° C. and above the metal nitride may bereduced by hydrogen produced by decomposition of the nitriding gas.Thus, T_(max) is preferably from about 700 to about 900° C., morepreferably from about 700 to about 850° C. and, still more preferably,from about 725 to about 800° C. While not narrowly critical, typicallythe oxide-containing precursor is heated to T_(max) over a period oftime (t₂) of at least about 15 minutes, more typically from about 15 toabout 250 minutes and, still more typically, from about 30 to about 60minutes. The rate at which the temperature increases from T₁ to T_(max)is not narrowly critical but generally is at least about 2° C./min.Typically, this rate is from about 2 to about 40° C./min and, moretypically, from about 5 to about 10° C./min.

After the atmosphere contacting the oxide-containing precursor reachesT_(max), the temperature of the atmosphere is generally maintained atT_(max) for a time sufficient to ensure the desired reduction of thetransition metal oxide to a transition metal nitride. Typically, thisperiod of time, t₃, during which the temperature remains at T_(max), isat least about 1 hour. Preferably, t₃ is preferably from about 1 toabout 5 hours and, more preferably, from about 3 to about 4 hours.

As with carbide formation, both T_(max) and the holding time at T_(max),t₃, directly affect nitride formation with each condition beingcontrolled in order to provide sufficient nitride formation. However,ensuring that both conditions are within a preferred range provides evenmore preferred conditions for nitride formation. Thus, in a particularlypreferred embodiment, T_(max) is from about 725 to about 800° C. whilet₃ is from about 1 to about 5 hours.

It has been observed that during temperature programmed reduction usedto produce a transition metal nitride in which the nitrogen-containingatmosphere comprises ammonia, the transition metal nitride thus formed(e.g., molybdenum nitride) may be reduced to form free transition metal.2MN+2NH₃→2M₂+N₂+2H₂O2M+2NH₃

2MN+3H₂

This reaction typically occurs when the nitridation reaction is complete(i.e., substantially all of the oxide precursor has been reduced to thenitride) and is likely to occur when T_(max) reaches higher temperatures(i.e., above 900° C.). Even though these reactions may result inproducing the desired transition metal nitride by the forward reactionbetween free transition metal and ammonia, the conditions for directammonia nitridation of free transition metal are preferably avoidedbecause of the possibility of the reverse reduction of the nitride byhydrogen. This is typically controlled by maintaining T_(max) duringnitridation below that which accelerates decomposition of ammonia toform hydrogen, thereby preventing the reverse formation of freetransition metal by the reduction of the nitride by hydrogen.

The contact of either a carbiding or nitriding atmosphere with thesupport may occur via a gas phase flow within a fluid bed reactionchamber at a space velocity of at least about 0.01 sec⁻¹. The gas phaseflow of the carbiding or nitriding atmosphere within a fluid bedreaction chamber is not narrowly critical and may exhibit a spacevelocity of from about 0.01 to about 0.50 sec⁻¹. While carbide andnitride formation proceeds readily over a wide range of gas phase flowrates, the flow rate may be increased to initially increase diffusion ofthe source compound into the pores of the support to accelerateformation of the carbide or nitride and reduce the time necessary tohold the temperature at T_(max) to ensure sufficient carbide or nitrideformation.

In addition to temperature programmed reduction, other methods forproducing a transition metal (e.g., molybdenum or tungsten) carbide maybe used. For example, a carbon support having a precursor formed on itssurface in accordance with the above description may be contacted withan inert gas at temperatures ranging from about 500 to about 1400° C. Itis believed that the precursor is reduced by the carbon support underthe high temperature conditions and the precursor reacts with the carbonsupport to form a carbide on the surface of the support. The inert gasmay be selected from the group consisting of argon, nitrogen, andhelium.

Another method includes contacting a volatile metal compound and acarbon support at temperatures ranging from about 500 to about 1400° C.to reduce the volatile metal compound which then reacts with the carbonsupport to form a carbide. The volatile metal compound is generally anorganometallic compound.

A carbon support having a precursor formed on its surface may also becontacted with hydrogen at a temperature of from about 500 to about1200° C. (typically, about 800° C.) to reduce the precursor which reactswith the carbon support to form a carbide on the surface of the carbonsupport.

The time to reach the maximum temperature, the maximum temperatureitself or time for holding the temperature at the maximum are notnarrowly critical and may vary widely in accordance with either of thesemethods.

It has been observed that the yield and stability (e.g., resistance toleaching under alkaline dehydrogenation or metal plating conditions) ofa carbide produced using the alternatives to temperature programmedreduction described above are reduced as compared to carbides producedusing temperature programmed reduction. Thus, temperature programmedreduction is the preferred method for carbide formation.

Formation of a transition metal (e.g., molybdenum or tungsten) carbideand nitride on the surface of a carbon support may proceed generally inaccordance with the above discussion. An exemplary preparation isformation of a transition metal (i.e., molybdenum or tungsten) carbideand nitride on the surface of a carbon support having a molybdenum ortungsten-containing precursor deposited thereon as described above. Onesuch method involves subjecting a carbon support to high temperatures(e.g., from about 600 to about 1000° C.) in the presence of an organicligand containing carbon and nitrogen to form both a carbide and nitrideon the support surface. Possible ligands include, for example, atransition metal porphyrin or a nitrogen-containing molybdenumorganometallic compound (e.g., a molybdenum pyridine compound).

In a further alternative process for preparing a modified carbon supportcomprising a transition metal carbide and a transition metal nitride, atransition metal-containing (e.g., molybdenum or tungsten-containing)nitride is formed according to any of the process schemes describedabove for that purpose, after which the nitride is contacted with ahydrocarbon or a mixture comprising a hydrocarbon and hydrogen. Thus, acomposition containing both a carbide and a nitride is formed on thesurface of the carbon support by virtue of the conversion of only acertain portion of the nitride. Remainder of a portion of the nitride isassured by maintaining conditions under which conversion of nitride tocarbide is incomplete, for example, by limiting T_(max) or limiting thehold time at T_(max).

In the transition metal/nitrogen composition, or transitionmetal/nitrogen/carbon composition, it is believed that the transitionmetal is bonded to nitrogen atoms by co-ordination bonds. In at leastcertain embodiments of the process for preparing the catalyst, anitrogen-containing compound may be reacted with the carbon substrate,and the product of this reaction further reacted with a transition metalsource compound or precursor compound to produce a transition metalcomposition in which the metal is co-ordinated to the nitrogen. Reactionof the nitrogen-containing compound with the carbon substrate isbelieved to be incident to many if not most embodiments of the processfor preparing the transition metal composition, but can be assured byinitially contacting a carbon substrate with the nitrogen-containingcompound under pyrolysis conditions in the absence of the transitionmetal or source thereof, and thereafter cooling the pyrolyzedN-containing carbon, impregnating the cooled N-containing carbon with atransition metal precursor compound, and pyrolyzing again. According tothis alternative process, during the first pyrolysis step the carbon maybe contacted with a nitrogen-containing gas such as ammonia oracetonitrile at greater than 700° C., typically about 900° C. The secondpyrolysis step may be conducted in the presence of an inert or reducinggas (e.g., hydrogen and/or additional nitrogen-containing compound)under the temperature conditions described herein for preparation of atransition metal/nitrogen composition or transitionmetal/nitrogen/carbon composition on a carbon support. Conveniently,both pyrolysis steps may be conducted by passing a gas of appropriatecomposition through a fixed or fluid bed comprising a particulate carbonsubstrate.

Where nitrogen is combined with the carbon substrate, the nitrogen atomson the carbon support are understood to be typically of thepyridinic-type wherein nitrogen contributes one n electron to carbon ofthe support, e.g., to the graphene plane of the carbon, leaving anunshared electron pair for co-ordination to the transition metal. It isfurther preferred that the concentration of transition metal on thesupport be not substantially greater than that required to saturate thenitrogen atom co-ordination sites on the carbon. Increasing thetransition metal concentration beyond that level may result in theformation of zero valence (metallic form) of the transition metal, whichis believed to be catalytically inactive for at least certain reactions.The formation of zero valence transition metal particles on the surfacemay also induce graphitization around the metal particles. Although thegraphite may itself possess catalytic activity for certain reactions,graphitization reduces effective surface area, an effect that, ifexcessive, may compromise the activity of the catalyst.

In the case of catalysts further including a metal-containing activephase formed on a modified carbon support (i.e., a carbon support havinga transition metal composition formed thereon), a modified carbonsupport having a high surface area is desired in order to provide a highsurface area suitable for metal deposition. Thus, modified carbonsupports typically have a Langmuir surface area of at least about 500m²/g prior to deposition of a metal thereon. Preferably, the Langmuirsurface area of a modified carbon support is at least about 600 m²/gand, more preferably, from about 600 to about 800 m²/g prior todeposition of a metal thereon. Preferably, the surface area of themodified support is at least about 30% of the surface area of thesupport prior to formation of the transition metal composition thereonand, more preferably, from about 40 to about 70% of the surface area ofthe support prior to formation of the transition metal composition onthe carbon support.

The micropore surface area of modified carbon supports of the presentinvention (i.e., surface area attributed to pores having a diameter lessthan 20 Å) is typically at least about 200 m²/g and, more typically,from about 200 to about 400 m²/g. Preferably, the Langmuir microporesurface area of the modified support is at least about 20% of thesurface area of the support prior to formation of the transition metalcomposition thereon, more preferably from about 20 to about 50% and,still more preferably, from about 30 to about 50% of the Langmuirmicropore surface area of the support prior to formation of thetransition metal composition on the carbon support.

The combined Langmuir mesopore and macropore surface area of modifiedcarbon supports of the present invention (i.e., surface area attributedto pores having a diameter greater than 20 Å) is typically at leastabout 200 m²/g and, more typically, from about 200 to about 400 m²/g.Preferably, the combined Langmuir micropore and mesopore surface area ofthe modified support is at least about 40% of the surface area of thesupport prior to formation of the transition metal composition thereonand, more preferably, from about 50 to about 70% of the surface area ofthe support prior to formation of the transition metal composition onthe carbon support.

Modified carbon supports prepared in accordance with the process of thepresent invention likewise preferably exhibit pore volumes sufficient toallow for diffusion of reactants into the pores of the finishedcatalyst. Thus, preferably a modified carbon support comprising atransition metal/carbon composition (i.e., a transition metal carbide)has a total pore volume of at least about 0.50 cm³/g and, morepreferably, a pore volume of at least about 0.60 cm³/g.

In addition to overall pore volume, the pore volume distribution ofmodified carbon supports of the present invention preferably conduces todiffusion of reactants into the pores of the finished catalyst.Preferably, pores having a diameter of less than about 20 Å make up nomore than about 45% of the overall pore volume of the modified carbonsupport and, more preferably, no more than about 30% of the overall porevolume. Pores having a diameter of greater than about 20 Å preferablymake up at least about 60% of the overall pore volume of the modifiedcarbon support and, more preferably, at least about 65% of the overallpore volume.

It has been observed that “mesopores” (i.e., pores having a diameter offrom about 20 to about 50 Å) allow suitable diffusion of reactants intothe pores of a modified carbon support. Thus, preferably mesopores makeup at least about 25% of the overall pore volume and, more preferably,at least about 30% of the overall pore volume. Macro pores (i.e., poreshaving a diameter larger than about 50 Å) also allow suitable diffusionof reactants into the pores of the modified carbon support. Thus,preferably, these pores make up at least about 5% of the overall porevolume and, more preferably, at least about 10% of the overall porevolume of the catalyst.

Catalysts of the present invention may include a metal-containing activephase suitable for catalyzing reactions such as, for example, thedehydrogenation of primary alcohols deposited on a modified carbonsupport prepared as described above. Such a metal-containing activephase may comprise a metal selected from the group consisting of GroupIB and Group VIII. In various embodiments, the metal is selected fromthe group consisting of copper, nickel, platinum, and palladium withnickel, platinum, or palladium acting as a support for an active phasecontaining copper.

In the case of dehydrogenation of a primary alcohol, themetal-containing active phase preferably comprises copper. The followingdiscussion focuses on copper-containing catalysts. Nevertheless, itshould be recognized that this discussion generally applies to catalystscontaining other metals (e.g., nickel, platinum, and palladium).

Copper may be deposited onto the modified carbon support (i.e., thecarbon support having a transition metal composition as described aboveformed thereon) surface via different methods including, for example,electroless plating and electrolytic plating.

Electrolytic plating generally involves passing an electric currentthrough a plating solution comprising the metal to be plated in contactwith a cathode comprising the modified carbon support. One alternativemethod for electrolytic metal plating involves the use of a “slurryelectrode” such as that described by Kastening et al. See Design of aslurry electrode reactor system, (Journal of Applied Electrochemistry(1997), 27, 147-152). Plating using a slurry electrode proceeds using ametal (e.g., copper) anode and a slurry cathode comprising a feederelectrode in a slurry of the modified carbon support. Plating proceedsby oxidation of the copper anode caused by release of electrons to theexternal circuit and reduction of the resulting copper ions by electronssupplied by the feeder cathode.

The following discussion focuses on electroless plating since it is thepreferred technique due to its simplicity and low cost. Electrolessplating proceeds by the reduction of metal ions (e.g., copper ions) tometal by an external reducing agent in a solution in contact with themodified carbon support. In accordance with the present invention, theplating solution generally comprises an aqueous plating mediumcomprising a water-soluble salt of the metal to be deposited, a reducingagent, and a retardant which inhibits reduction of metal ions (e.g.,cupric ions) prior to contact with the modified carbon support. Theretardant may, for example, be a chelating agent (i.e., a co-ordinationcompound) which inhibits reduction of metal ions by forming aco-ordination compound with the metal ions to be deposited in order todelay their reduction by the reducing agent until the metal salt iscontacted with the modified carbon support. The plating solution maycontain other ingredients including, for example, an alkaline hydroxideand other formulation additives such as stabilizers, surfactants, andbrightness and wetting agents. The plating solution is typically stable(i.e., remains as a well-dispersed mixture) for extended periods of time(e.g., a week or longer) and, thus, provides the advantage of beingsuitable for use in multiple plating operations. Typically, the pH ofthe aqueous medium is from about 7 to about 14.

In the case of copper, the water-soluble salts of the aqueous medium arepreferably selected from the group consisting of copper chloride, coppernitrate, and copper sulfate salts. In a preferred embodiment thewater-soluble salt comprises copper sulfate. While the concentration ofwater-soluble salt in the aqueous medium is not narrowly critical, tohelp ensure sufficient metal deposition while preventing excessprecipitation, typically the salt concentration in the aqueous medium isno more than about 20% by weight. Preferably, the salt concentration inthe aqueous medium is from about 1% to about 10% by weight and, morepreferably, from about 8% to about 10%. Generally, the aqueous mediumcomprises at least about 0.2 g of copper salt per g of modified carbonsupport contacted with the aqueous medium and no more than about 1.5 gof copper salt per g of modified carbon support contacted with theaqueous medium.

A wide variety of reducing agents may be used including, for example,sodium hypophosphite (NaH₂PO₂), formaldehyde (CH₂O) and other aldehydes,formic acid (HCOOH), salts of formic acid, salts of borohydride (e.g.,sodium borohydride (NaBH₄)), salts of substituted borohydrides (e.g.,sodium triacetoxyborohydride (Na(CH₃CO₂)₃BH)), sodium alkoxides,dimethylborane (DMAB), and hydrazine (H₂NNH₂). In a preferredembodiment, the reducing agent comprises formaldehyde. Reducing agent isgenerally present in the aqueous medium in an amount stoichiometricallyrequired for reduction of all or a substantial portion of the metal ionspresent in the aqueous medium. The concentration of the reducing agentin the aqueous medium is typically no more than about 1% by weight ofthe overall plating solution and, more typically, no more than about0.5% by weight.

The reducing agent may be present in an amount in excess of thatstoichiometrically required for reduction of all or a substantialportion of the metal ions present in the aqueous medium. If present inan excess amount, typically no more than about 400% excess reducingagent is present.

Suitable retardants (i.e., chelating agents or co-ordination ligands)for incorporation in the aqueous medium for use in electroless platinginclude, for example, aminopolycarboxylic ligands, aminopolyhydroxylicligands, polyhydroxylic ligands, and polycarboxy-polyhydroxylic ligands.In particular, the retardant or, co-ordination ligand, may be selectedfrom the group consisting of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA);diethylenetriaminepentaaectic acid;N,N,N′,N′-tetrakis-(2-hydroxypropyl)-ethylenediamine; glycerol; andtartaric acid. In a preferred embodiment, the retardant comprises sodiumpotassium tartrate and, in another, EDTA.

In certain embodiments, the modified carbon support is contacted withthe aqueous medium comprising a water-soluble salt of the metal to bedeposited, a reducing agent, and a retardant which inhibits reduction ofmetal ions (e.g., cupric ions) prior to contact with the transitionmetal composition of the modified carbon support. The transition metalcomposition (e.g., transition metal carbide or nitride) catalyzes thereduction reaction and overcomes the retardant effect of the chelatingagent or other retardant.

As the reducing agent reduces the metal ions in the solution to metal,the metal forms a coating on the surface of the supported transitionmetal composition which has been formed on the modified carbon supportand/or on any transition metal free portion of the carbon supportsurface. The mechanism of the electroless plating is shown below inwhich the anodic reaction is the decomposition of the reducing agent (asshown below, formaldehyde) and the cathodic reaction is the reduction ofthe metal complex.HCHO+H₂O

H₂C(OH)₂H₂C(OH)₂+(OH)_(ads)

[H₂C(OH)O⁻]_(ads)+H₂O

 Cu²⁺ +1/2e--->Cu⁰

It has been observed that a reducing agent comprising formaldehydefunctions more effectively in an alkaline environment. This is becausethe formaldehyde exists as methylene glycol in the aqueous medium. Thepresence of an alkaline component facilitates the deprotonation ofmethylene glycol; thus, the aqueous medium typically also comprises analkaline component. Typically, the concentration of the alkalinecomponent in the aqueous medium is at least about 0.1% by weight.Preferably, the concentration of the alkaline component in the aqueousmedium is from about 0.5 to about 5% by weight and, more preferably,from about 1 to about 3% by weight.

When the aqueous medium does include an alkaline component, care shouldbe taken to avoid formation of precipitates, which may result fromreaction between cations of the metal to be deposited and the hydroxideions. Precipitation is preferably avoided since any precipitates formedmay consume metal that may otherwise deposit on the carbon support; andthe catalytically inactive precipitates (e.g., Cu(OH)₂) may also depositon the surface of the modified support. Such precipitation may preventdeposition of transition metal within the pores of the carbon support.The presence of a retardant which inhibits reduction of metal ions(e.g., cupric ions) prior to contact with the transition metalcomposition of the modified carbon support generally sufficientlyinhibits this precipitation. Thus, an alkaline component in the aqueousmedium is not detrimental to the plating process.

The electroless plating deposition of metal onto the supportedtransition metal composition may in some circumstances proceed toorapidly, thus preventing sufficient diffusion of the metal into thecarbon structure (i.e., sufficient diffusion of the metal into the poresof the carbon support) and, accordingly, preventing uniform depositionof the metal throughout the carbon-supported transition metalcomposition. The rate of plating is directly proportional to the platingtemperature; thus, one way to control the plating rate is to control theplating temperature. It has been discovered that operating the platingprocess at moderate temperature improves diffusion of the metal to bedeposited into the pores of the supported transition metal composition(e.g., carbide, nitride, or carbide-nitride) and, accordingly, theuniformity of metal deposition. Thus, typically the plating is carriedout (i.e., the modified carbon support is contacted with the aqueousmedium) at temperatures from about 1 to about 50° C. and, moretypically, from about 2 to about 25° C. Typically, the modified carbonsupport remains in contact with the aqueous medium for at least about0.5 hours and, more typically, for from about 0.5 to about 3 hours.

While plating of copper onto the transition metal composition surfaceproceeds readily, unfortunately a portion of the transition metal may beremoved or, leached, from the transition metal/nitrogen, transitionmetal/carbon or transition metal/carbon/nitrogen composition on thecarbon support during the plating process.

Leaching of transition metal from the support surface may be due tooxidation of the transition metal composition (i.e., nitride,carbide-nitride or carbide) by ions of the metal to be deposited on thetransition metal composition which are present in the aqueousmedium/plating solution. For example, an oxidized carbide is unstableand, thus, transition metal is more likely to be leached from thesurface of the carbon support where the transition metal compositioncomprises a significant fraction of transition metal carbide. Oneexplanation for the instability of an oxidized carbide may be that itcauses oxidation of the transition metal and its removal from the oxidematrix. The oxidation rate of the nitride, carbide-nitride or carbide isdirectly proportional to the plating temperature; thus, thisconsideration may generally be addressed by plating at low temperaturein accordance with the discussion set forth above regarding platingtemperature. Leaching of transition metal due to oxidation of a carbideor nitride is also controlled, in part, by the presence of the reducingagent which contributes to maintaining the surface of the transitionmetal carbide or nitride in a well-reduced state.

In addition to controlling and/or reducing transition metal leaching,preventing oxidation of the carbide or nitride is also advantageousbecause metal generally does not plate onto an oxidized carbide ornitride or, if it plates at all, does not produce a metal phase stableunder reaction (e.g., dehydrogenation) conditions. This is believed tobe due, at least in part, to a much weaker interaction between oxidizedcarbide and copper.

As stated, the retardant is present in the aqueous medium in order toprevent reduction of metal ions prior to contact with the metal to beplated, and where the retardant is a chelating agent, it may performthis function by forming a co-ordination compound with the metal to beplated. Typically, the concentration of retardant in the aqueous mediumis at least about 3% by weight. Preferably, the concentration ofretardant in the aqueous medium is from about 3 to about 6% by weight.However, if too great a proportion of retardant is present in theaqueous medium, transition metal may leach from the surface of thecarbon support due to formation of a co-ordination compound between theretardant and transition metal.

Thus, the preferred proportion of retardant present in the aqueousmedium also depends on the concentration of metal salt present in theaqueous medium. It has been discovered that controlling the ratio ofthese components contributes to optimal plating considerations. That isto say, including an amount of retardant sufficient to ensure that asufficient portion of metal is plated while maintaining the retardantconcentration below that which may contribute to leaching as discussedabove. In accordance with the present invention, the molar ratio ofmoles of retardant to moles of metal present in the aqueous medium is atleast about 1:1, typically at least about 1.5:1, more typically at leastabout 2.0:1 and, still more typically, at least about 2.5:1. However,the molar ratio of moles of retardant to moles of metal present in theaqueous medium is preferably no more than about 3:1 in order to avoidformation of an excessive amount of co-ordination compound between theretardant and the transition metal.

In addition to plating temperature and retardant concentration, themanner of introduction to the aqueous medium of one or more of itscomponents may be modified to control the plating rate and leaching fromthe surface of the support. FIG. 1 is a SEM image of a carbon supportedmolybdenum carbide having copper deposited thereon in accordance withthe method described above in which the reducing agent is present at theoutset of the electroless plating. As shown in FIG. 1, it has beenobserved that plating in accordance with the method described above inwhich the reducing agent is present at the outset of the electrolessplating in the case of a carbon-supported molybdenum carbide results inappreciable metal cluster formation and less than desired plating withinthe pores of the carbon support. This method does, however, result invery little transition metal leaching.

It has been discovered, for example, that introducing the reducing agentinto the aqueous medium after the modified carbon support has beencontacted with the aqueous medium comprising a metal salt and aretardant provides increased diffusion of the metal to be deposited intothe pores of the carbon support since the plating rate is slowed down byvirtue of the delay in introduction of the reducing agent; thusresulting in more uniform metal deposition as compared to that observedwhen the reducing agent is present where the modified carbon support iscontacted with the aqueous medium.

FIG. 2 is a SEM image of a carbon supported molybdenum carbide havingcopper deposited thereon in accordance with this method (i.e., delayingintroduction of the reducing agent until the support has been contactedwith the aqueous medium). As shown in FIG. 2, uniform copper plating(i.e., no appreciable formation of copper clusters) and sufficientplating within the pores of the carbon support are observed using thismethod. On the other hand, introduction of the modified support to theaqueous medium in the absence of the reducing agent may result in hightransition metal leaching from the support surface due to oxidation ofcarbide or nitride surface due to the instability of oxidized carbidesand nitrides. For example, molybdenum leaching of as high as 20% wasobserved in the case of the copper plated carbon supported molybdenumcarbide shown in FIG. 2.

Introducing the metal salt into the aqueous medium after the modifiedcarbon support has been contacted with the aqueous medium comprising areducing agent and a retardant has also been considered. Plating in thismanner provides reduced leaching (e.g., as low as 5% of the transitionmetal formed on the carbon support) caused by oxidation of the carbideor nitride surface since the reducing agent is present to ensure thatthe carbide or nitride surface remains well reduced. However, platingcan proceed too rapidly because the entire stoichiometric amount ofreducing agent and salt are present when the carbon support is initiallycontacted with the aqueous medium. FIG. 3 is a TEM image of a carbonsupported molybdenum carbide having copper deposited thereon inaccordance with this method (i.e., delaying introduction of the metalsalt into the aqueous medium after the modified carbon support has beencontacted with the aqueous medium). As shown in FIG. 3, this method maynot provide uniform distribution (i.e., appreciable formation of copperclusters occurs) or insufficient plating within the pores of the carbonsupport. Thus, even though leaching may be reduced as compared to thosemethods described above, this method, while acceptable in someinstances, is not preferred. Deposition of metal per this alternative isusually not as uniform as that achieved using the method described abovewherein introduction of a portion of the reducing agent is delayed.

Thus, preferably, the often conflicting considerations of plating rate,which directly affects the uniformity and quality of plating, andoxidation of the carbide or nitride are both addressed by controllingthe manner of introduction of each of its components and the modifiedcarbon support to the aqueous medium.

Having reducing agent present in an amount stoichiometrically less thanthat required for reduction of the metal ions to the metal to be platedin the aqueous medium when the support is initially contacted with theaqueous medium followed by introduction of additional reducing agent tothe aqueous medium solution after the support has been contacted withthe aqueous medium has also been investigated. The slurry may beagitated as copper metal is deposited on the support. Delayingintroduction of a portion of the reducing agent to the aqueous medium inthis manner to form a primary electroless plating slurry comprising theless than stoichiometrically required amount of reducing agent reducesthe plating rate and, accordingly, allows increased diffusion of themetal to be deposited into the pores of the carbon support, resulting inmore uniform metal deposition. The initial portion of reducing agent issufficient to reduce metal ions while also sufficient to provide awell-reduced carbide or nitride surface to control leaching caused byoxidation of carbide and nitride surface. FIG. 4 is a SEM image of acarbon supported molybdenum carbide having copper deposited thereon inaccordance with this method (i.e., delaying introduction of a portion ofthe reducing agent until the support has been contacted with the aqueousmedium). As shown in FIG. 4, uniform deposition of copper is achievedusing this method. In addition, low molybdenum leaching (e.g., no morethan about 5% by weight) occurs with this method. In certainembodiments, the electroless plating slurry comprises no more than about2% of the stoichiometric amount of reducing agent required for reductionof the metal ions to be plated while in others the electroless platingslurry comprises from about 2 to about 10% of the stoichiometric amountof reducing agent necessary for reduction of the metal ions to beplated.

Delaying introduction of a portion of the reducing agent to the aqueousmedium also serves to minimize decomposition of the reducing agent. Forexample, in the case of a reducing agent comprising formaldehyde, itsdecomposition to form hydrogen is delayed.

Even though each of the above methods provides metal deposition on thecarbide or nitride surface, the preferred method is that in whichintroduction of a portion of the reducing agent is delayed since bothconsiderations of plating rate and oxidation of the carbide or nitrideare most adequately addressed. As previously discussed, the platingtemperature preferably is used to control the plating rate and,accordingly, provide uniform metal deposition. Thus, it is furtherpreferred to combine the beneficial effect of a low plating temperaturealong with delaying introduction of a portion of the reducing agent tothe aqueous medium. Accordingly, in a preferred embodiment the platingtemperature is no more than about 2° C. and no more than about 5% of theamount of reducing agent stoichiometrically required for reduction ofthe metal ions to be plated is introduced to the aqueous medium to formthe electroless plating slurry. In various embodiments, however, theplating temperature may range from about 1 to about 20° C., from about 1to about 10° C., or from about 1 to about 5° C.

Plating of metal on the modified carbon support generally proceeds untilthe pH of the aqueous medium reaches a predetermined pH based onconsumption of the hydroxide ion. Thus, the rate of pH drop is directlyrelated to the plating rate and accordingly is controlled within asuitable range based on the considerations set forth above forcontrolling the plating process. Typically, plating begins with theaqueous medium at a pH of about 13 and is typically discontinued whenthe pH of the aqueous medium is about 8. In accordance with the methodsset forth above for controlling the plating rate (e.g., temperature andintroduction of the reducing agent), preferably the rate of pH drop isno more than about 0.5/min.

Based on the foregoing, it can be seen that numerous factors influencethe plating operation. For example, the concentration of metal,retardant, reducing agent, and hydroxide component in the aqueousmedium. Thus, preferably the concentrations of each of these componentsare maintained within a suitable range.

For dehydrogenation catalysts of the present invention, metal depositedon a modified carbon support typically makes up at least about 5% byweight of the catalyst. Preferably, the metal deposited on the modifiedcarbon support makes up from about 5% to about 30% by weight of thecatalyst and, more preferably, from about 15% to about 25% by weight ofthe catalyst and, still more preferably, from about 18% to about 23% byweight of the catalyst. In embodiments in which the catalyst comprisescopper deposited on a modified carbon support, the catalyst typicallycomprises at least about 10% by weight copper and, more typically, atleast about 15% by weight copper. Preferably, the catalyst comprisesfrom about 10 to about 30% by weight copper, more preferably from about15 to about 25% by weight copper and, still more preferably, from about18 to about 23% by weight copper. In certain embodiments, preferably thecopper-containing catalyst comprises no more than about 3% by weight ofa noble metal (e.g., platinum) deposited as described below, morepreferably, no more than about 1% by weight of a noble metal and, stillmore preferably, no more than about 0.5% by weight of a noble metal. Inother embodiments, preferably the copper-containing catalyst of thepresent invention comprises no more than about 1% by weight nickel, morepreferably, no more than about 1% by weight nickel and, still morepreferably, no more than about 0.5% by weight nickel.

Oxidation catalysts of the present invention including a transitionmetal composition formed on a carbon support may further comprise anoble metal-containing active phase. The noble metal-containing activephase may generally be deposited over the carbon support and preferablyis deposited over the transition metal composition of the modifiedcarbon support. Catalysts containing an active phase comprising a noblemetal are effective for the oxidation of a tertiary amine (e.g.,N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid), and also for the oxidationbyproducts of this reaction (e.g., formaldehyde and formic acid). In anembodiment of the catalyst of the present invention comprising a noblemetal (e.g., platinum) deposited on a modified carbon support, the noblemetal is typically deposited in accordance with a well-known method.These include, for example, liquid phase methods such as reactiondeposition techniques (e.g., deposition via reduction of noble metalcompounds and deposition via hydrolysis of noble metal compounds), ionexchange techniques, excess solution impregnation, and incipient wetnessimpregnation; vapor phase methods such as physical deposition andchemical deposition; precipitation; and electrochemical displacementdeposition methods such as electroless and electrolytic deposition.

Preferably, the noble metal is deposited onto the surface of themodified carbon support via an impregnation method comprising contactingthe modified carbon support with a solution comprising a salt of thenoble metal to be deposited followed by hydrolysis of the salt.Generally, the salt of the noble metal to be deposited is selected fromthe group consisting of hydrogen, sodium, potassium, and ammonium salts.One example of a platinum salt suitable for use in solution depositionwhich is also relatively inexpensive is hexachloroplatinic acid(H₂PtCl₆).

The noble metal may also be deposited onto the surface of the modifiedcarbon support using a solution comprising a salt of the noble metal inone of its more reduced oxidation states. For example, instead of usinga salt of Pt(IV) (e.g., H₂PtCl₆), a salt of Pt(II) is used. In anotherembodiment, platinum in its elemental state (e.g., colloidal platinum)is used. Using these more reduced metal precursors leads to lessoxidation of the modified carbon support and, therefore, lessoxygen-containing functional groups being formed at the surface of thesupport while the noble metal is being deposited on the surface. Oneexample of a Pt(II) salt is K₂PtCl₄. Another potentially useful Pt(II)salt is diamminedinitrito platinum(II).

Suitable methods for deposition of the noble metal are discussed in U.S.Pat. No. 6,417,133, the entire disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

For oxidation catalysts of the present invention, platinum is typicallypresent in a proportion of at least about 0.5% by weight of the catalystand, more typically, at least about 1% by weight of the catalyst.Preferably, platinum is present in a proportion of from about 1 to about10% by weight of the catalyst, more preferably from about 2 or 2.5 toabout 10% by weight of the catalyst, more preferably from about 2 toabout 8% by weight of the catalyst and, still more preferably, fromabout 2 to about 5% by weight of the catalyst.

In addition to the noble metal, at least one promoter may be at thesurface of the carbon support. Although the promoter typically isdeposited onto the surface of the carbon support, other sources ofpromoter may be used (e.g., the carbon support itself may naturallycontain a promoter). A promoter tends to increase catalyst selectivity,activity, and/or stability. A promoter additionally may reduce noblemetal leaching.

The promoter may, for example, be an additional noble metal(s) at thesurface of the carbon support. For example, ruthenium and palladium havebeen found to act as promoters on a catalyst comprising platinumdeposited at a carbon support surface. The promoter(s) alternatively maybe, for example, a metal selected from the group consisting of tin (Sn),cadmium (Cd), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), aluminum(Al), cobalt (Co), bismuth (Bi), lead (Pb), titanium (Ti), antimony(Sb), selenium (Se), iron (Fe), rhenium (Re), zinc (Zn), cerium (Ce),and zirconium (Zr). Preferably, the promoter is selected from the groupconsisting of bismuth, iron, tin, and titanium. In a particularlypreferred embodiment, the promoter is tin. In another particularlypreferred embodiment, the promoter is iron. In an additional preferredembodiment, the promoter is titanium. In a further particularlypreferred embodiment, the catalyst comprises both iron and tin. Use ofiron, tin, or both generally (1) reduces noble metal leaching for acatalyst used over several cycles, and (2) tends to increase and/ormaintain the activity of the catalyst when the catalyst is used toeffect the oxidation of PMIDA. Catalysts comprising iron generally aremost preferred because they tend to have the greatest activity andstability with respect to formaldehyde and formic acid oxidation.

In one preferred embodiment, the promoter is more easily oxidized thanthe noble metal. A promoter is “more easily oxidized” if it has a lowerfirst ionization potential than the noble metal. First ionizationpotentials for the elements are widely known in the art and may befound, for example, in the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (CRCPress, Inc., Boca Raton, Fla.).

The amount of promoter at the surface of the carbon support (whetherassociated with the carbon surface itself, metal, or a combinationthereof) may vary within wide limits depending on, for example, thenoble metal and promoter used. Typically, the weight percentage of thepromoter is at least about 0.05% ([mass of promoter÷total mass of thecatalyst]×100%). The weight percent of the promoter preferably is fromabout 0.05 to about 10%, more preferably from about 0.1 to about 10%,still more preferably from about 0.1 to about 2%, and most preferablyfrom about 0.2 to about 1.5%. When the promoter is tin, the weightpercent most preferably is from about 0.5 to about 1.5%. Promoter weightpercentages less than 0.05% generally do not promote the activity of thecatalyst over an extended period of time. On the other hand, weightpercents greater than about 10% tend to decrease the activity of thecatalyst.

The molar ratio of noble metal to promoter may also vary widely,depending on, for example, the noble metal and promoter used.Preferably, the ratio is from about 1000:1 to about 0.01:1; morepreferably from about 150:1 to about 0.05:1; still more preferably fromabout 50:1 to about 0.05:1; and most preferably from about 10:1 to about0.05:1. For example, a catalyst comprising platinum and iron preferablyhas a molar ratio of platinum to iron of about 3:1.

In certain embodiments, the noble metal (e.g., platinum) is alloyed withat least one promoter (e.g., tin or iron) to form alloyed metalparticles.

One feature of a carbon support having a transition metal compositionformed thereon (i.e., a modified carbon support) which affects thesurface area of transition metal composition available for deposition ofcopper, noble metal, or other metal active phase thereon is theresistance of the transition metal composition to removal from thesurface of the carbon support under certain conditions (e.g., alkalinemetal plating conditions and contact with cations of the metal to beplated on the modified carbon support). Thus, preferably no more thanabout 20% by weight of a transition metal composition of the presentinvention is removed from the surface of a carbon support when contactedwith an alkaline aqueous plating medium under alkaline metal platingconditions for at least about 3 hours. In addition, preferably no morethan about 5% by weight of a transition metal composition of the presentinvention is removed from the surface of a carbon support when contactedwith cations of a metal to be deposited on a modified carbon support forat least about 3 hours.

Generally, it is preferred for the oxidation catalysts of the presentinvention to have a high surface area. Formation of the transitionmetal/nitrogen, transition metal/carbon or transitionmetal/carbon/nitrogen composition typically is associated with somereduction in Langmuir surface area. Loss of surface area may be a resultof coating of the carbon surface with a transition metal composition ofrelatively lower surface area, e.g., in the form of an amorphous filmand/or relatively large particles of the transition metal composition.Amorphous transition metal composition may be in the form of eitheramorphous particles or an amorphous film. Preferably, the sacrifice insurface area is not greater than about 40%. Where the transition metalcomposition is formed under the preferred conditions described above,the loss in total Langmuir surface area is typically between about 20and about 40%. Thus, generally, the surface area of the catalyst is atleast about 60% of the surface area of the carbon support prior toformation of the transition metal composition thereon and, moregenerally, from about 60 to about 80%.

Typically, the catalyst has a total Langmuir surface area of at leastabout 500 m²/g, more typically at least about 600 m²/g. Preferably, thetotal Langmuir surface area of the catalyst is at least about 800 m²/g,more preferably at least about 900 m²/g. It is generally preferred thatthe total Langmuir surface area of the catalyst remains at a value of atleast about 1000 m²/g, more preferably at least about 1100 m²/g, evenmore preferably at least about 1200 m²/g, after the transition metalcomposition has been formed. Generally, the catalyst has a totalLangmuir surface area of from about 600 to about 1500 m²/g, typicallyfrom about 600 to about 1400 m²/g. In certain embodiments, the catalysthas a total Langmuir surface area of from about 800 to about 1200 m²/g.Preferably, the catalyst has a total Langmuir surface area of from about1000 to about 1400 m²/g, more preferably from about 1100 to about 1400m²/g and, even more preferably, from about 1200 to about 1400 m²/g.

Where the transition metal composition is formed in accordance with apreferred method, it is believed that the composition comprises asubstantial fraction of very fine particles, e.g., wherein at leastabout 20 wt. % of the transition metal is in amorphous form or in theform of particles of less than 15 nm, more typically less than 5 nm,more typically 2 nm, as determined by X-ray diffraction.

It is further preferred that, as compared to the carbon support, themicropore Langmuir surface area be reduced by not more than 45%, morepreferably not more than about 40%. Thus, the micropore Langmuir surfacearea of oxidation catalysts is generally at least about 55% of themicropore Langmuir surface area of the carbon support prior to formationof the transition metal composition thereon, more generally at leastabout 60% and, still more generally, at least about 80%. Typically, themicropore Langmuir surface area of the catalyst is from about 55 toabout 80% of the micropore Langmuir surface area of the carbon supportprior to formation of the transition metal composition thereon, moretypically from about 60 to about 80% and, still more typically, fromabout 70 to about 80%.

The Langmuir surface area of an oxidation catalyst of the presentinvention attributed to pores having a diameter of less than 20 Å (i.e.,micropores) is typically at least about 750 m²/g, more typically atleast 800 m²/g, still more typically at least about 800 m²/g and, evenmore typically, at least about 900 m²/g. Preferably, the microporeLangmuir surface area of the oxidation catalyst is from about 750 toabout 1100 m²/g and, more preferably, from about 750 to about 1000 m²/g.

In addition to the preferred reduction in micropore surface area, it isfurther generally preferred that the combined mesopore and macroporeLangmuir surface area be reduced by not more than about 30%, morepreferably not more than about 20%, as a result of the formation of thetransition metal composition on the carbon support. Thus, generally, thecombined mesopore and macropore Langmuir surface area of oxidationcatalysts is generally at least about 70% of the combined mesopore andmacropore Langmuir surface area of the carbon support prior to formationof the transition metal composition thereon and, more generally, atleast about 80%. Typically, the combined mesopore and macropore Langmuirsurface area of the catalyst is from about 70 to about 90% of thecombined mesopore and macropore Langmuir surface area of the carbonsupport prior to formation of the transition metal composition thereon.

Generally, the combined mesopore and macropore surface area is at leastabout 175 m²/g and, more generally, at least 200 m²/g. Preferably, thecombined mesopore and macropore Langmuir surface area of the oxidationcatalyst is from about 175 to about 300 m²/g and, more preferably, fromabout 200 to about 300 m²/g. In certain embodiments, the combinedmesopore and macropore surface area is from about 175 to about 250 m²/g.

Additionally or alternatively, it is preferred that the microporeLangmuir surface area of the catalyst remain at a value of at leastabout 750 m²/g, more preferably at least about 800 m²/g, and thecombined mesopore and macropore Langmuir surface area of the catalystremain at a value of at least about 175 m²/g, more preferably at leastabout 200 m²/g, after the transition metal composition has been formed.

In various particularly preferred embodiments of the invention, X-raydiffraction analysis at a detection limit of 1 nm does not detect anysignificant portion of transition metal composition particles. Thus, itis currently believed that the transition metal composition particlesare present on the surface of the carbon support in the form of discreteparticles having a particle size of less than 1 nm or are present on thesurface of the carbon support in the form of an amorphous film. However,based on the decrease in surface area after formation of the transitionmetal composition on the carbon support, it is reasonable to infer thetransition metal composition may be present at least in part as anamorphous film since an increase in surface area would be expected inthe case of deposition of crystallites having a particle size below 1nm.

It is likewise preferred for dehydrogenation catalysts of the presentinvention (i.e., modified carbon supports having a metal-containingactive phase deposited thereon) to have a high surface area. Typically,the catalyst has a Langmuir surface area of at least about 500 m²/g,more typically at least about 600 m²/g and, still more typically, fromabout 500 to about 1200 m²/g. Generally, the catalyst has a Langmuirsurface area of from about 600 to about 1000 m²/g and, more generally,from about 600 to about 800 m²/g.

A further advantageous feature of the oxidation and dehydrogenationcatalysts of the present invention is a pore volume sufficient to allowfor diffusion of reactants into the pores of the catalyst. Thus,preferably, catalysts of the present invention including a transitionmetal composition formed on a carbon support typically have a porevolume of at least about 0.1 cm³/g and, more typically at least about0.5 cm³/g. Generally, such catalysts have a pore volume of from about0.1 to about 2 cm³/g and, more generally, from about 0.5 to about 1.5cm³/g.

In addition to overall pore volume, the pore volume distribution of theoxidation and dehydrogenation catalysts of the present inventionpreferably conduces to diffusion of reactants into the pores of thefinished catalyst. Preferably, pores having a diameter of less thanabout 20 Å make up no more than about 45% of the overall pore volume ofthe catalyst and, more preferably, no more than about 30% of the overallpore volume. Pores having a diameter of greater than about 20 Åpreferably make up at least about 60% of the overall pore volume of thecatalyst and, more preferably, at least about 65% of the overall porevolume.

It has been observed that “mesopores” (i.e., pores having a diameter offrom about 20 to about 40 Å) allow suitable diffusion of reactants intothe pores of the catalyst. Thus, preferably mesopores make up at leastabout 25% of the overall pore volume and, more preferably, at leastabout 30% of the overall pore volume. Macro pores (i.e., pores having adiameter larger than about 40 Å) also allow suitable diffusion ofreactants into the pores of the catalyst. Thus, preferably, these poresmake up at least about 5% of the overall pore volume and, morepreferably, at least about 10% of the overall pore volume of thecatalyst.

It is generally preferred for the transition metal composition (e.g.,the transition metal carbide or transition metal nitride) to beuniformly distributed substantially over the surface of the pore wallsand interstitial passages of the catalyst particles (i.e., all surfacesaccessible to fluid with which the catalyst is contacted). Particle sizeof the transition metal composition, as determined, for example, byX-ray diffraction, affects such uniform distribution and it has beenobserved that the smaller the size of the particulate crystals of thetransition metal composition, the more uniform its deposition.

For oxidation catalysts of the present invention including a transitionmetal composition deposited on a carbon support, generally, at leastabout 95% by weight of the transition metal composition particles have aparticle size, in their largest dimension, of less than about 1000 nm.Typically, at least about 80% by weight of the transition metalcomposition particles have a particle size, in their largest dimension,of less than about 250 nm. More typically, at least about 70% by weightof the transition metal composition particles have a particle size, intheir largest dimension, of less than about 200 nm. Still moretypically, at least about 60% by weight of the transition metalcomposition particles have a particle size, in their largest dimension,of less than about 18 nm. Even more typically, at least about 20% byweight, preferably at least about 55% by weight of the transition metalcomposition particles have a particle size, in their largest dimension,of less than about 15 nm. Preferably, at least about 20% by weight ofthe transition metal composition particles have a particle size, intheir largest dimension, of less than about 5 nm, more preferably, lessthan about 2 nm, and even more preferably, less than about 1 nm. Morepreferably, from about 20 to about 95% by weight of the transition metalcomposition particles have a particle size, in their largest dimension,of less than about 1 nm and, more preferably, from about 20 to about100% by weight.

Generally, at least about 75%, on a number basis, of the transitionmetal composition particles have a particle size, in their largestdimension, of less than about 1000 nm. Typically, at least about 60%, ona number basis, of the transition metal composition particles have aparticle size, in their largest dimension, of less than about 250 nm.More typically, at least about 50%, on a number basis, of the transitionmetal composition particles have a particle size, in their largestdimension, of less than about 200 nm. Still more typically, at leastabout 40%, on a number basis, of the transition metal compositionparticles have a particle size, in their largest dimension, of less thanabout 18 nm. Even more typically, at least about 35%, on a number basis,of the transition metal composition particles have a particle size, intheir largest dimension, of less than about 15 nm.

For dehydrogenation catalysts including a metal-containing (e.g.,copper-containing) active deposited on a modified carbon supportincluding a transition metal composition comprising molybdenum ortungsten formed on a carbon support, typically at least about 99% of theparticles of the transition metal composition formed on the carbonsupport exhibit a particle size of less than about 100 nm, therebycontributing to uniform distribution of the transition metal compositionthroughout the carbon support since it has been observed that a greaterproportion of particles of such a size provide a uniform coating oftransition metal composition on the carbon support. More preferably, atleast about 95% of the particles of the carbide or nitride formed on thecarbon support exhibit a particle size of from about 5 nm to about 50nm.

It has been observed that uniform distribution of the transition metalcomposition on the carbon support (i.e., reduced clustering of thetransition metal and/or suitable distribution of the transition metalcomposition throughout the pores of the carbon support) may improvecatalytic activity of catalysts including a transition metal compositiondeposited on a carbon support and/or may allow for improved coating of ametal-containing active phase on the modified carbon support in the caseof a dehydrogenation catalyst.

FIG. 5 is a High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM)image of a carbon-supported molybdenum carbide prepared in accordancewith the above methods in which molybdenum carbide is present in aproportion of 15% by weight. As shown, a carbon support havingmolybdenum carbide formed thereon prepared in accordance with themethods described above exhibits uniform dispersion of molybdenumcarbide throughout the carbon support.

FIG. 6 is a Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) image of a carbonsupported molybdenum carbide prepared in accordance with the abovemethods in which the carbide is present in a proportion of 10% byweight. As shown, a carbon support having molybdenum carbide formedthereon in a proportion of 10% by weight of the modified carbon supportin accordance with the methods described above exhibits uniformdistribution of molybdenum throughout the carbon support. FIG. 7 is aTransmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) image of a carbon supportedmolybdenum carbide prepared in accordance with the above methods inwhich the carbide is present in a proportion of 10% by weight. As shown,a carbon support having molybdenum carbide formed thereon in aproportion of 10% by weight of the modified carbon support in accordancewith the above methods exhibits uniformity of molybdenum carbidedistribution throughout believed to be due, at least in part, to theparticle size distribution of molybdenum carbide.

Uniform distribution may be indicated by the percentage of surface areaof the carbon support covered with the transition metal composition.Preferably in certain embodiments (e.g., transition metal compositionsincluding molybdenum or tungsten carbide or nitride), a suitable portionof the surface area of the carbon support is coated with transitionmetal composition. Generally, at least about 20% and, more generally, atleast about 50% of the surface area of the carbon support is coated witha transition metal composition (e.g., a transition metal carbide ornitride). Typically, from about 20 to about 80% and, more typically,from about 50% to about 80% of the surface area of the carbon support iscoated with a transition metal composition (e.g., a transition metalcarbide or nitride).

Oxidation catalysts of the present invention may exhibit one or moreproperties described in Ebner et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,133, theentire disclosure of which was incorporated by reference above. Suchcharacteristics may be found, for example, at column 3, line 6 to column7, line 23; column 8, line 27 to column 9, line 24; column 10, lines53-57; column 11, line 49 to column 14, line 18; column 14, line 50 tocolumn 16, line 3; column 17, line 14 to column 21, line 2; column 26(Example 2); column 27, lines 21-34 (Example 4); and column 30, line 21to column 40, line 61 (Examples 7 to 19).

Oxidation catalysts of the present invention may include carbonnanotubes on the surface of the carbon support which may contain acertain proportion of the transition metal contained in the catalyst.Additionally or alternatively, the carbon nanotubes may contain aportion of the nitrogen of the transition metal composition. Typically,any such transition metal is present at the root or the tip of thenanotube, however, transition metal may also be present along the lengthof the nanotube. The carbon nanotubes typically have a diameter of atleast about 0.01 μm and, more typically, have a diameter of at leastabout 0.1 μm. In certain embodiments, the carbon nanotubes have adiameter of less than about 1 μm and, in other embodiments, have adiameter of less than about 0.5 μm.

Certain embodiments of the above-described catalyst (e.g., catalystscomprising a transition metal composition deposited on a carbon supportand such catalysts further including a noble metal) may be used forliquid phase oxidation reactions. Examples of such reactions include theoxidation of alcohols and polyols to form aldehydes, ketones, and acids(e.g., the oxidation of 2-propanol to form acetone, and the oxidation ofglycerol to form glyceraldehyde, dihydroxyacetone, or glyceric acid);the oxidation of aldehydes to form acids (e.g., the oxidation offormaldehyde to form formic acid, and the oxidation of furfural to form2-furan carboxylic acid); the oxidation of tertiary amines to formsecondary amines (e.g., the oxidation of nitrilotriacetic acid (“NTA”)to form iminodiacetic acid (“IDA”)); the oxidation of secondary aminesto form primary amines (e.g., the oxidation of IDA to form glycine); andthe oxidation of various acids (e.g., formic acid or acetic acid) toform carbon dioxide and water.

The oxidation catalyst disclosed herein is particularly suited forcatalyzing the liquid phase oxidation of a tertiary amine to a secondaryamine, for example in the preparation of glyphosate and relatedcompounds and derivatives. For example, the tertiary amine substrate maycorrespond to a compound of Formula II having the structure:

wherein R¹ is selected from the group consisting of R⁵OC(O)CH₂— andR⁵OCH₂CH₂—, R² is selected from the group consisting of R⁵OC(O)CH₂—,R⁵OCH₂CH₂—, hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, acyl, —CHR⁶PO₃R⁷R⁸,and —CHR⁹SO₃R₁₁, R⁶, R⁹ and R¹¹ are selected from the group consistingof hydrogen, alkyl, halogen and —NO₂, and R³, R⁴, R⁵, R⁷, R⁸ and R¹⁰ areindependently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen,hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl and a metal ion. Preferably, R¹comprises R⁵OC(O)CH₂—, R¹¹ is hydrogen, R⁵ is selected from hydrogen andan agronomically acceptable cation and R² is selected from the groupconsisting of R⁵OC(O)CH₂—, acyl, hydrocarbyl and substitutedhydrocarbyl. As noted above, the oxidation catalyst of the presentinvention is particularly suited for catalyzing the oxidative cleavageof a PMIDA substrate such as N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid or asalt thereof to form N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine or a salt thereof. Insuch an embodiment, the catalyst is effective for oxidation of byproductformaldehyde to formic acid, carbon dioxide and/or water.

The above-described catalysts are especially useful in liquid phaseoxidation reactions at pH levels less than 7, and in particular, at pHlevels less than 3. One such reaction is the oxidation of PMIDA or asalt thereof to form N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine or a salt thereof in anenvironment having pH levels in the range of from about 1 to about 2.This reaction is often carried out in the presence of solvents whichsolubilize noble metals and, in addition, the reactants, intermediates,or products often solubilize noble metals. Certain catalysts of thepresent invention avoid these problems due to the absence of a noblemetal. Advantageously, however, the catalysts of the present inventioncontaining a noble metal have been found to be useful in suchenvironments.

The description below discloses with particularity the use of catalystsdescribed above containing a transition metal composition (e.g., atransition metal nitride, transition metal carbide or transition metalcarbide-nitride) acting as the catalyst or further containing a noblemetal-containing active phase to effect the oxidative cleavage of PMIDAor a salt thereof to form N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine or a salt thereof.It should be recognized, however, that the principles disclosed beloware generally applicable to other liquid phase oxidative reactions,especially those at pH levels less than 7 and those involving solvents,reactants, intermediates, or products which solubilize noble metals.

To begin the PMIDA oxidation reaction, it is preferable to charge thereactor with the PMIDA reagent (i.e., PMIDA or a salt thereof),catalyst, and a solvent in the presence of oxygen. The solvent is mostpreferably water, although other solvents (e.g., glacial acetic acid)are suitable as well.

The reaction may be carried out in a wide variety of batch, semi-batch,and continuous reactor systems. The configuration of the reactor is notcritical. Suitable conventional reactor configurations include, forexample, stirred tank reactors, fixed bed reactors, trickle bedreactors, fluidized bed reactors, bubble flow reactors, plug flowreactors, and parallel flow reactors.

When conducted in a continuous reactor system, the residence time in thereaction zone can vary widely depending on the specific catalyst andconditions employed. Typically, the residence time can vary over therange of from about 3 to about 120 minutes. Preferably, the residencetime is from about 5 to about 90 minutes, and more preferably from about5 to about 60 minutes. When conducted in a batch reactor, the reactiontime typically varies over the range of from about 15 to about 120minutes. Preferably, the reaction time is from about 20 to about 90minutes, and more preferably from about 30 to about 60 minutes.

In a broad sense, the oxidation reaction may be practiced in accordancewith the present invention at a wide range of temperatures, and atpressures ranging from sub-atmospheric to super-atmospheric. Use of mildconditions (e.g., room temperature and atmospheric pressure) haveobvious commercial advantages in that less expensive equipment may beused. However, operating at higher temperatures and super-atmosphericpressures, while increasing capital requirements, tends to improve phasetransfer between the liquid and gas phase and increase the PMIDAoxidation reaction rate.

Preferably, the PMIDA reaction is conducted at a temperature of fromabout 20 to about 180° C., more preferably from about 50 to about 140°C., and most preferably from about 80 to about 110° C. At temperaturesgreater than about 180° C., the raw materials tend to begin to slowlydecompose.

The pressure used during the PMIDA oxidation generally depends on thetemperature used. Preferably, the pressure is sufficient to prevent thereaction mixture from boiling. If an oxygen-containing gas is used asthe oxygen source, the pressure also preferably is adequate to cause theoxygen to dissolve into the reaction mixture at a rate sufficient suchthat the PMIDA oxidation is not limited due to an inadequate oxygensupply. The pressure preferably is at least equal to atmosphericpressure. More preferably, the pressure is from about 30 to about 500psig, and most preferably from about 30 to about 130 psig.

The catalyst concentration preferably is from about 0.1 to about 10 wt.% ([mass of catalyst÷total reaction mass]×100%). More preferably, thecatalyst concentration preferably is from about 0.1 to about 5 wt. %,still more preferably from about 0.2 to about 5 wt. % and, mostpreferably, from about 0.3 to about 1.5 wt. %. Concentrations greaterthan about 10 wt. % are difficult to filter. On the other hand,concentrations less than about 0.1 wt. % tend to produce unacceptablylow reaction rates.

The present invention is further directed to a catalyst systemcomprising a combination of transition metal composition on carboncatalysts of the present invention, preferably substantially devoid of anoble metal active phase, with a noble-metal containing bifunctionalcatalyst (i.e., a catalyst which oxidizes PMIDA while further providingoxidation of formaldehyde and formic acid byproducts) as described inU.S. Pat. No. 6,417,133 to Ebner et al., the entire disclosure of whichwas incorporated by reference above. Such a catalyst system includingthe catalysts described by Ebner et al. and transition metal containingcatalysts of the present invention is advantageous since it is effectivefor oxidizing PMIDA, formaldehyde, and formic acid, but not all of thecatalyst available for PMIDA oxidation requires the presence of a costlynoble metal. Thus, such a catalyst system may potentially provide a moreeconomical process. Typically, such a catalyst system comprises at leastabout 10% by weight of a catalyst as described in U.S. Pat. No.6,417,133, more typically at least about 20% by weight and, mosttypically from about 10 to about 50% by weight.

Additionally or alternatively, the catalyst system comprises at leastabout 10% by weight of a transition metal composition-containingcatalyst of the present invention, more typically at least about 20% byweight and, most typically, from about 20 to about 50% by weight of atransition metal composition-containing catalyst of the presentinvention.

The concentration of PMIDA reagent in the feed stream is not critical.Use of a saturated solution of PMIDA reagent in water is preferred,although for ease of operation, the process is also operable at lesseror greater PMIDA reagent concentrations in the feed stream. If thecatalyst is present in the reaction mixture in a finely divided form, itis preferred to use a concentration of reactants such that all reactantsand the—(phosphonomethyl)glycine product remain in solution so that thecatalyst can be recovered for re-use, for example, by filtration. On theother hand, greater concentrations tend to increase reactor through-put.Alternatively, if the catalyst is present as a stationary phase throughwhich the reaction medium and oxygen source are passed, it may bepossible to use greater concentrations of reactants such that a portionof the N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine product precipitates.

It should be recognized that, relative to many commonly-practicedcommercial processes, this invention allows for greater temperatures andPMIDA reagent concentrations to be used to prepareN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine while minimizing by-product formation. In thecommonly practiced commercial processes using a carbon-only catalyst, itis economically beneficial to minimize the formation of the NMGby-product, which is formed by the reaction ofN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine with the formaldehyde by-product. Inprocesses based on carbon catalysts, temperatures are typicallymaintained between about 60 to 90° C., and PMIDA reagent concentrationsare typically maintained below about 9.0 wt. % ([mass of PMIDAreagent÷total reaction mass]×100%) to achieve cost effective yields andto minimize the generation of waste. At such temperatures, the maximumN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine solubility typically is less than 6.5%.However, with the oxidation catalyst and reaction process of thisinvention, formaldehyde is effectively oxidized, thereby allowing forreaction temperatures as high as 180° C. or greater with PMIDA reagentsolutions and slurries of the PMIDA reagent. The use of highertemperatures and reactor concentrations permits reactor throughput to beincreased, reduces the amount of water that must be removed beforeisolation of the solid N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine, and reduces the costof manufacturing N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine. This invention thusprovides economic benefits over many commonly-practiced commercialprocesses.

Normally, a PMIDA reagent concentration of up to about 50 wt. % ([massof PMIDA reagent÷total reaction mass]×100%) may be used (especially at areaction temperature of from about 20 to about 180° C.). Preferably, aPMIDA reagent concentration of up to about 25 wt. % is used(particularly at a reaction temperature of from about 60 to about 150°C.). More preferably, a PMIDA reagent concentration of from about 12 toabout 18 wt. % is used (particularly at a reaction temperature of fromabout 100 to about 130° C.). PMIDA reagent concentrations below 12 wt. %may be used, but are less economical because a relatively low payload ofN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine product is produced in each reactor cycle andmore water must be removed and energy used per unit ofN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine product produced. Relatively low reactiontemperatures (i.e., temperatures less than 100° C.) often tend to beless advantageous because the solubility of the PMIDA reagent andN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine product are both relatively low at suchtemperatures.

The oxygen source for the PMIDA oxidation reaction may be anyoxygen-containing gas or a liquid comprising dissolved oxygen.Preferably, the oxygen source is an oxygen-containing gas. As usedherein, an “oxygen-containing gas” is any gaseous mixture comprisingmolecular oxygen which optionally may comprise one or more diluentswhich are non-reactive with the oxygen or with the reactant or productunder the reaction conditions.

Examples of such gases are air, pure molecular oxygen, or molecularoxygen diluted with helium, argon, nitrogen, or other non-oxidizinggases. For economic reasons, the oxygen source most preferably is air,oxygen-enriched air, or pure molecular oxygen.

Oxygen may be introduced by any conventional means into the reactionmedium in a manner which maintains the dissolved oxygen concentration inthe reaction mixture at a desired level. If an oxygen-containing gas isused, it preferably is introduced into the reaction medium in a mannerwhich maximizes the contact of the gas with the reaction solution. Suchcontact may be obtained, for example, by dispersing the gas through adiffuser such as a porous frit or by stirring, shaking, or other methodsknown to those skilled in the art.

The oxygen feed rate preferably is such that the PMIDA oxidationreaction rate is not limited by oxygen supply. If the dissolved oxygenconcentration is too high, however, the catalyst surface tends to becomedetrimentally oxidized, which, in turn, tends to lead to more leachingof noble metal present in the catalyst and decreased formaldehydeactivity (which, in turn, leads to more NMG being produced). Generally,it is preferred to use an oxygen feed rate such that at least about 40%of the oxygen is utilized. More preferably, the oxygen feed rate is suchthat at least about 60% of the oxygen is utilized. Even more preferably,the oxygen feed rate is such that at least about 80% of the oxygen isutilized. Most preferably, the rate is such that at least about 90% ofthe oxygen is utilized. As used herein, the percentage of oxygenutilized equals: (the total oxygen consumption rate÷oxygen feedrate)×100%. The term “total oxygen consumption rate” means the sum of:(i) the oxygen consumption rate (“R_(i)”) of the oxidation reaction ofthe PMIDA reagent to form the N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine product andformaldehyde, (ii) the oxygen consumption rate (“R_(ii)”) of theoxidation reaction of formaldehyde to form formic acid, and (iii) theoxygen consumption rate (“R_(iii)”) of the oxidation reaction of formicacid to form carbon dioxide and water.

In various embodiments of this invention, oxygen is fed into the reactoras described above until the bulk of PMIDA reagent has been oxidized,and then a reduced oxygen feed rate is used. This reduced feed ratepreferably is used after about 75% of the PMIDA reagent has beenconsumed. More preferably, the reduced feed rate is used after about 80%of the PMIDA reagent has been consumed. Where oxygen is supplied as pureoxygen or oxygen-enriched air, a reduced feed rate may be achieved bypurging the reactor with (non-enriched) air, preferably at a volumetricfeed rate which is no greater than the volumetric rate at which the puremolecular oxygen or oxygen-enriched air was fed before the air purge.The reduced oxygen feed rate preferably is maintained for from about 2to about 40 minutes, more preferably from about 5 to about 20 minutes,and most preferably from about 5 to about 15 minutes. While the oxygenis being fed at the reduced rate, the temperature preferably ismaintained at the same temperature or at a temperature less than thetemperature at which the reaction was conducted before the air purge.Likewise, the pressure is maintained at the same or at a pressure lessthan the pressure at which the reaction was conducted before the airpurge. Use of a reduced oxygen feed rate near the end of the PMIDAreaction allows the amount of residual formaldehyde present in thereaction solution to be reduced without producing detrimental amounts ofAMPA by oxidizing the N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine product.

In embodiments in which the catalyst includes a noble metal, reducedlosses of noble metal may be observed with this invention if asacrificial reducing agent is maintained or introduced into the reactionsolution. Suitable reducing agents include formaldehyde, formic acid,and acetaldehyde. Most preferably, formic acid, formaldehyde, ormixtures thereof are used. Experiments conducted in accordance with thisinvention indicate that if small amounts of formic acid, formaldehyde,or a combination thereof are added to the reaction solution, thecatalyst will preferentially effect the oxidation of the formic acid orformaldehyde before it effects the oxidation of the PMIDA reagent, andsubsequently will be more active in effecting the oxidation of formicacid and formaldehyde during the PMIDA oxidation. Preferably from about0.01 to about 5.0 wt. % ([mass of formic acid, formaldehyde, or acombination thereof÷total reaction mass]×100%) of sacrificial reducingagent is added, more preferably from about 0.01 to about 3.0 wt. % ofsacrificial reducing agent is added, and most preferably from about 0.01to about 1.0 wt. % of sacrificial reducing agent is added.

In certain embodiments, unreacted formaldehyde and formic acid arerecycled back into the reaction mixture for use in subsequent cycles. Inthis instance, an aqueous recycle stream comprising formaldehyde and/orformic acid also may be used to solubilize the PMIDA reagent in thesubsequent cycles. Such a recycle stream may be generated by evaporationof water, formaldehyde, and formic acid from the oxidation reactionmixture in order to concentrate and/or crystallize productN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine. Overheads condensate containing formaldehydeand formic acid may be suitable for recycle.

As noted above, the oxidation catalysts of the present inventionincluding a transition metal composition comprising a transition metal,nitrogen, and carbon formed on a carbon support as described herein,preferably substantially devoid of a noble metal active phase, areeffective for the oxidation of formaldehyde to formic acid, carbondioxide and water. In particular, oxidation catalysts of the presentinvention are effective for the oxidation of byproduct formaldehydeproduced in the oxidation of N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid. Moreparticularly, such catalysts are characterized by their effectivenessfor catalyzing the oxidation of formaldehyde such that when arepresentative aqueous solution containing about 0.8% by weightformaldehyde and having a pH of about 1.5 is contacted with an oxidizingagent in the presence of said catalyst at a temperature of about 100°C., at least about 5%, preferably at least about 10%, more preferably atleast about 15%, even more preferably at least about 20% or even atleast about 30% by weight of said formaldehyde is converted to formicacid, carbon dioxide and/or water.

The oxidation catalysts of the present invention including a transitionmetal composition comprising a transition metal, nitrogen, and carbonformed on a carbon support as described herein, preferably substantiallydevoid of a noble metal active phase, is particularly effective incatalyzing the liquid phase oxidation of formaldehyde to formic acid,carbon dioxide and/or water in the presence of a PMIDA reagent such asN-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid. More particularly, such catalystis characterized by its effectiveness for catalyzing the oxidation offormaldehyde such that when a representative aqueous solution containingabout 0.8% by weight formaldehyde and about 6% by weight ofN-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid and having a pH of about 1.5 iscontacted with an oxidizing agent in the presence of said catalyst at atemperature of about 100° C., at least about 50%, preferably at leastabout 60%, more preferably at least about 70%, even more preferably atleast about 80%, and especially at least about 90% by weight of saidformaldehyde is converted to formic acid, carbon dioxide and/or water.

Typically, the concentration of N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine in theproduct mixture may be as great as 40% by weight, or greater.Preferably, the N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine concentration is from about 5to about 40%, more preferably from about 8 to about 30%, and still morepreferably from about 9 to about 15%. Concentrations of formaldehyde inthe product mixture are typically less than about 0.5% by weight, morepreferably less than about 0.3%, and still more preferably less thanabout 0.15%.

Following the oxidation, the catalyst preferably is subsequentlyseparated by filtration. The N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine product may thenbe isolated by precipitation, for example, by evaporation of a portionof the water and cooling.

In certain embodiments (e.g., those in which the catalyst includes anoble metal), it should be recognized that the catalyst of thisinvention has the ability to be reused over several cycles, depending onhow oxidized its surface becomes with use. Even after the catalystbecomes heavily oxidized, it may be reused by being reactivated. Toreactivate a catalyst having a heavily oxidized surface, the surfacepreferably is first washed to remove the organics from the surface. Itthen preferably is reduced in the same manner that a catalyst is reducedafter the noble metal is deposited onto the surface of the support, asdescribed above.

A process incorporating a catalyst of the present invention whichincludes a transition metal composition formed on a carbon support andfurther including a copper-containing active phase may generally be usedto convert any primary alcohol to a carboxylic acid salt. As usedherein, a “primary alcohol” is any alcohol comprising a hydroxy groupattached to a carbon which is bound to two hydrogen atoms, i.e.,R—CH₂OH. Such a process dehydrogenates a primary alcohol to yield both acarboxylic acid salt and hydrogen gas. Typically, this reaction iscarried out in a heated reaction zone containing an alkaline mediumcontaining the primary alcohol, a base, and a catalyst prepared inaccordance with the present invention. An example of this reaction isthe dehydrogenation of monoethanolamine in a heated reaction zonecontaining KOH to form hydrogen gas and the potassium salt of glycine:

Another example of this reaction is the dehydrogenation ofdiethanolamine (sometimes described in the art as “DEA”) in a heatedreaction zone containing NaOH to form hydrogen gas and disodiumiminodiacetic acid (sometimes described in the art as “DSIDA”):

An additional example is the dehydrogenation of anN-alkyl-monoethanolamine to form a salt of an N-alkyl-glycine. The alkylgroup can be, for example, methyl (—CH₃). In that instance, thedehydrogenation product would be a salt of N-methyl-glycine (i.e., asalt of sarcosine):

A further example is the dehydrogenation of triethanolamine to form asalt of nitrilotriacetic acid:

Although effective and useful in the dehydrogenation of essentially anyprimary alcohol, the process of the invention is particularlyadvantageous for primary alcohols which contain amino groups or otherfunctionalities which are reactive and susceptible to side reactions. Inparticular, β-amino alcohols are susceptible to dehydrogenation of theC—N bond and subsequent dealkylation, consequently leading to theformation of usually undesirable side products. In various preferredembodiments of this invention, the primary alcohol is an alkanolamine(i.e., a compound wherein the nitrogen of an amine functionality isbonded directly to the carbon of an alkyl alcohol). In this embodiment,the primary alcohol preferably has formula (I):

wherein n is an integer ranging from 2 to 20; and R¹ and R² areindependently hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, or substituted hydrocarbyl.

A hydrocarbyl may be any group consisting exclusively of carbon andhydrogen. The hydrocarbyl may be branched or unbranched, may besaturated or unsaturated, and may comprise one or more rings. Suitablehydrocarbyl groups include alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, and aryl groups.They also include alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, and aryl groups substitutedwith other aliphatic or cyclic hydrocarbyl groups, such as alkaryl,alkenaryl, and alkynaryl.

A substituted hydrocarbyl may be any hydrocarbyl wherein a carbon atomof the hydrocarbyl group has been substituted with an atom other thanhydrogen or a group of atoms containing at least one atom other thanhydrogen. For example, a hydrogen atom may be substituted with a halogenatom, such as a chlorine or fluorine atom. Alternatively, one or morehydrogen atoms may be replaced with a substituent comprising an oxygenatom or a group containing an oxygen atom to form, for example, ahydroxy group, an ether, an ester, an anhydride, an aldehyde, a ketone,or a carboxylic acid. The hydrogen atom also may be replaced with agroup containing a nitrogen atom to form, for example, an amide or anitro group. In addition, a hydrogen atom may be replaced with asubstituent group containing a sulfur atom to form, for example, —SO₃H.

Typically, R¹ and R² are independently either: hydrogen;—(CH₂)_(n)—(CH₃)_(m), x being an integer ranging from 0 to about 19(particularly from 1 to 6, and even more particularly 1), m being 1;—(CH₂)_(y)—OH, y being an integer ranging from 1 to about 20 (especiallyfrom 2 to 6); (CH₂)_(z)—COOH, z being an integer ranging from 1 to about19 (especially from 1 to 5); or phosphonomethyl.

In some preferred embodiments, R¹ and R² are both hydrogen (i.e., theamine functionality shown in formula (I) is a primary amine). An exampleof such an alcohol is monoethanolamine.

In other preferred embodiments, R¹ is hydrogen and R² is hydrocarbyl orsubstituted hydrocarbyl (i.e., the amine functionality shown in formula(I) is a secondary amine). Examples of primary alcohols in which R² ishydrocarbyl include N-methylethanolamine, N-ethylethanolamine,N-isopropylethanolamine, N-butylethanolamine, and N-nonylethanolamine.Examples of primary alcohols in which R² is a substituted hydrocarbylinclude primary alcohols wherein R² is —(CH₂)_(y)—OH and y is an integerranging from 1 to about 20 (more preferably from 1 to 6). An example ofsuch an alcohol is diethanolamine. Other examples of primary alcoholswherein R² is a substituted hydrocarbyl includeN-(2-aminoethyl)ethanolamine, N-(3-aminopropyl)ethanolamine,N-(carboxymethyl)ethanolamine, and N-(phosphonomethyl)ethanolamine.N-substituted ethanolamines, for example, may be prepared using thevarious methods known in the art. For example, a ketone may be condensedwith monoethanolamine in the presence of H₂, a solvent, and a noblemetal catalyst. This reaction is described in, for example, Cope, A. C.and Hancock, E. M. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 64, 1503-6 (1942). N-substitutedethanolamines also may be prepared by combining a mono-substituted amine(such as methylamine) and ethylene oxide to form the mono-substitutedethanolamine. This reaction is described by, for example, Y. Yoshida inJapanese Patent Application No. 95-141575.

In yet other preferred embodiments, both R¹ and R² are independentlyhydrocarbyl or substituted hydrocarbyl (i.e., the amine functionalityshown in formula (I) is a tertiary amine). Examples of primary alcoholsin which R¹ and R² are independently hydrocarbyl includeN,N-dimethylethanolamine, N,N-diethylethanolamine, andN,N-dibutylethanolamine. Examples of primary alcohols in which R¹ ishydrocarbyl and R² is substituted hydrocarbyl include primary alcoholswherein R² is —(CH₂)_(y)—OH and y is an integer ranging from 1 to about20 (more preferably from 1 to 6). Such alcohols include, for example,N-methyldiethanolamine, N-ethyldiethanolamine,N-isopropyldiethanolamine, and N-butyldiethanolamine. Other examples ofprimary alcohols in which R¹ is hydrocarbyl and R² is substitutedhydrocarbyl include N-ethyl, N-(2-aminoethyl)ethanolamine; N-ethyl,N-(2-aminoethyl)ethanolamine; and N-methyl,N-(3-aminopropyl)ethanolamine. Examples of primary alcohols in which R¹and R² are independently substituted hydrocarbyl include primaryalcohols wherein R¹ and R² are independently —(CH₂)_(y)—OH and y is aninteger ranging from 1 to about 20 (more preferably from 1 to 6). Anexample of such an alcohol is triethanolamine. Other examples of primaryalcohols in which R¹ and R² are independently substituted hydrocarbylinclude tetra(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediamine andN-(phosphonomethyl)-N-(carboxymethyl)ethanolamine.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the primary alcohol comprisesdiethanolamine and the dehydrogenation proceeds as set forth above toform disodium iminodiacetic acid and hydrogen. One importantconsideration in this embodiment is the formation of unwanted byproductssuch as sarcosine (i.e., N-methyl-glycine) which tend to impactdownstream processes incorporating the dehydrogenation product (e.g., aprocess in which disodium iminodiacetic acid is converted toN-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic which is then converted toN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine). It has been discovered that use of thecatalyst of the present invention for the dehydrogenation ofdiethanolamine to disodium iminodiacetic produces no significant amountof sarcosine due to absence of nickel in the catalyst. For example,typically the product of the dehydrogenation of diethanolamine using thecatalyst of the present invention contains no more than about 10% byweight of byproducts including sarcosine, glycine and oxalic acid. As anadded benefit, the catalyst of the present invention does not requirethe presence of an expensive noble metal.

The dehydrogenation reaction is conducted in an alkaline environment(i.e., a basic environment) by contacting the primary alcohol with acatalyst in a heated reaction (i.e., dehydrogenation) zone containing analkaline medium containing the catalyst. More specifically, thisreaction is typically conducted in the presence of a strong base havinga pK_(a) value of at least about 11, more preferably at least about 12,and even more preferably at least about 13. Suitable bases include, forexample, alkali metal hydroxides (LiOH, NaOH, KOH, RbOH, or CsOH),alkaline-earth metal hydroxides (e.g., Mg(OH)₂ or Ca(OH)₂), NaH, andtetramethyl ammonium hydroxide. Of these bases, alkali metal hydroxides(particularly NaOH and KOH, and even more particularly NaOH) are oftenpreferred because of their solubility in water under the reactionconditions, as well as their ready commercial availability and ease ofhandling.

The preferred amount of base introduced into the reaction zone dependson, for example, the moles of primary alcohol groups introduced into thereaction zone. Preferably, at least about one molar equivalent of baseis introduced per mole of primary alcohol hydroxy groups. Thus, forexample, if the base is NaOH and the primary alcohol ismonoethanolamine, preferably at least about 1 mole of NaOH is introducedper mole of monoethanolamine. If, on the other hand, the primary alcoholis diethanolamine, preferably at least 2 moles of NaOH are introducedper mole of diethanolamine. In a particularly preferred embodiment, fromabout 1.05 to about 2.0 molar equivalents of base per alcohol hydroxylgroup are introduced. The hydroxide may, for example, be in the form offlakes, powder, pellets, or an aqueous solution.

The reaction is normally conducted in a liquid medium comprising thealcohol and usually a solvent for the alcohol and/or the base. Alcohol,base and catalyst are introduced into the liquid medium, and reactionproceeds in the liquid medium within the reaction zone. An alkali metalor alkaline earth metal hydroxide may be introduced into the reactionmedium in various forms, for example, be in the form of flakes, powder,pellets, or an aqueous solution.

Preferably, the solvent is present in the liquid reaction medium in aproportion sufficient to dissolve essentially all (more preferably, all)the base. The solvent also preferably is present in a proportionsufficient to maintain the primary alcohol substrate and carboxylic acidsalt product in a solubilized form.

Water is normally the preferred solvent due to its low cost, widespreadavailability, and ease of handling. Alcohol, base and solvent arepreferably combined in relative proportions such that, at the outset ofa batch reaction cycle or the upstream end of a flow reactor, thereaction medium contains at least about 1 moles of alcohol per liter ofreaction medium, typically between about 1.8 and about 2.5 moles ofalcohol per liter of reaction medium, and at least about 3 moles of baseper liter of reaction medium, typically between about 4 and about 5moles of alcohol per liter of base. The molar ratio of solvent to baseand solvent to alcohol is typically between about 0.7 and about 1.2 andbetween about 0.8 and about 2.0, respectively, more typically betweenabout 0.85 and about 1 and between about 1 and about 1.8, respectively.In a continuous back mixed reaction system, solvent, base and alcoholare preferably introduced into the reaction medium in relativeproportions equivalent to the above concentrations and ratios.

Conveniently, the catalyst is slurried in the liquid reaction medium.Alternatively, the reaction medium containing base and alcohol can flowthrough a fixed bed of catalyst bodies. In a slurry catalyst system, thepreferred catalyst loading (i.e., the preferred concentration ofcatalyst in the liquid reaction medium) depends on, for example, theinitial concentration of the primary alcohol substrate therein or therelative rates at which solvent, catalyst and base are introduced intothe reaction zone. Typically, the catalyst loading in a batch orcontinuous flow reactions system is at least about 1% by weight relativeto the initial primary alcohol substrate content of the reaction medium(i.e., [mass of catalyst÷mass of primary alcohol substrate]×100%). Morepreferably, the catalyst loading is from about 1% to about 70% (stillmore preferably from about 10% to about 40%) by weight of the primaryalcohol substrate. In a continuous back mixed reaction system, catalystand primary alcohol are preferably introduced into the reactor in thesesame or similar relative proportions.

The preferred catalyst loading also depends on, for example, the totalmass of the alkaline liquid medium in which the catalyst is slurried.Typically, the catalyst loading is at least about 0.1% by weight of thetotal mass of the alkaline medium (i.e., [mass of catalyst÷total mass ofalkaline medium]×100%) and, more typically, at least about 5% by weightof the total mass of the alkaline liquid medium. More preferably, thecatalyst loading is from about 0.1% to about 10% (even more preferablyfrom about 3.5% to about 10%, and still even more preferably from about3.5% to about 5%) by weight of the total mass of the alkaline liquidmedium. Concentrations of greater than about 10 wt. % can be difficultto filter. On the other hand, concentrations of less than about 0.1 wt.% tend to produce less than optimal reaction rates.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, particulate catalyst may becharged to an aqueous alkaline medium to form a slurry for contactingdiethanolamine with the catalyst to produce a dehydrogenation reactionproduct slurry comprising catalyst and disodium iminodiacetic acid.Typically, in such an embodiment, the slurry comprises at least about3.5% by weight of catalyst and, more typically, from about 3.5% to about10% by weight. Disodium iminodiacetic acid is then recovered from thereaction product slurry.

Regardless of whether the reaction is conducted in a batch or continuousmode, it is preferably driven substantially to completion, e.g., to aconversion of at least about 90%, more preferably at least about 95%,more preferably at least about 98%. Alternatively, however, the reactionsystem may be operated at lower conversions, with unreacted alcoholseparated from the reaction mixture, e.g., by distillation, and recycledas part of the feed to the reactor. Where the reactor is operated atsignificantly less than quantitative conversion of alcohol, it may bepreferable to seek a higher conversion of base, since it may be lessfeasible to separate and recycle the base, especially an inorganic basesuch as NaOH or KOH. In such instance the ratio of base to alcoholintroduced into the reactor may be significantly less than 1.0. Forexample if conversion is only 60%, the ratio of base to alcohol may beonly 0.55 to 0.65.

The reaction typically is conducted at a temperature of at least about70° C., preferably from about 120 to about 220° C., more preferably fromabout 140 to about 200° C., even more preferably from about 145 to about155° C., and still even more preferably at about 150° C. (particularlywhen the primary alcohol is diethanolamine and the desired product isthe salt of iminodiacetic acid). Although reaction temperatures outsideof these ranges may be used, the results are typically less thanoptimal. For example, at temperatures of less than about 120° C., thereaction rate tends to be slow. And at temperatures greater than about220° C., the catalyst normally begins to lose selectivity. Toillustrate, as the reaction temperature exceeds about 150° C. (andparticularly as the temperature exceeds about 220° C.), thedehydrogenation reaction of diethanolamine will tend to form moreglycine salt byproduct, and, therefore, be less selective toward formingthe desired iminodiacetic acid salt product.

The reaction is preferably conducted under pressure. More specifically,the reaction is normally conducted under a pressure which is sufficientto prevent boiling of the mixture at the reaction temperature. Atreaction temperatures of from about 120 to about 220° C., the pressurepreferably is at least about 5 kg/cm², more preferably from about 5 toabout 30 kg/cm², even more preferably from about 5 to about 20 kg/cm²,still even more preferably from about 8 to about 11 kg/cm² (i.e., fromabout 115 to about 155 psig), and most preferably about 9.4 kg/cm²(i.e., 135 psig). Although greater pressures may be used, they arenormally less desirable because pressures above about 30 kg/cm² tend toreduce the reaction rate. In certain embodiments, the dehydrogenationreaction zone is under a total pressure of not greater than about 9.5kg/cm² (135 psig) with the hydrogen partial pressure being from about 0kg/cm² (0 psig) at the outset of the reaction to about 9.5 kg/cm² (135psig) (i.e., the total pressure) at the peak of the reaction.

The dehydrogenation reaction preferably is conducted under anon-oxidizing atmosphere (preferably, an atmosphere containing a noblegas and/or N₂, and more preferably N₂ when the reaction is conducted ona commercial level) to avoid oxidation of the catalyst surface (theatmosphere will also contain H₂ which evolves during thedehydrogenation). This preference stems from the fact that oxidation ofthe copper near the surface of the catalyst tends to reduce the activityand selectivity of the catalyst.

The dehydrogenation reaction may be carried out in a wide variety ofbatch, semi-batch, and continuous reactor systems. The configuration ofthe reactor is not critical. Suitable conventional reactorconfigurations include, for example, stirred-tank reactors, fixed bedreactors, trickle bed reactors, fluidized bed reactors, bubble flowreactors, plug flow reactors, and parallel flow reactors. Often, themore preferred reactor configurations are stirred-tank reactors.However, for when the hydrogen produced in the dehydrogenation reactionis fed to a fuel cell, the preferred reactor configuration comprises afixed bed reactor followed by gas-liquid adsorption.

During a batch reaction cycle, typically at least about 200 g ofdiethanolamine per kg of alkaline medium are introduced to adehydrogenation reaction zone for each reaction cycle. Preferably, atleast about 225 g of diethanolamine per kg of alkaline medium areintroduced to a dehydrogenation reaction zone for each reaction cycle.Typically, at least about 5% of the diethanolamine present in thedehydrogenation reaction zone is converted to disodium iminodiaceticacid.

Generally, a primary alcohol will be converted to a salt of a carboxylicacid at an ultimate turnover ratio of at least about 2 moles of saltproduced per mole of copper. Preferably, diethanolamine is converted todisodium iminodiacetic acid within the dehydrogenation reaction zone atan ultimate turnover ratio of at least about 1 mole of diethanolamineper mole of copper.

In a slurry reaction system the reaction mixture is preferably filteredfor separation of the catalyst from the liquid medium. Preferably theseparated catalyst is recycled to the reactor for further conversion ofalcohol to carboxylic acid. In a slurried catalyst reaction system, theturnover ratio per cycle or pass through the reactor is generally atleast about 1 mole of diethanolamine per mole of copper. Typically, theturnover ratio per cycle or pass through the reactor is at least about10 moles of diethanolamine per mole of copper, more typically at leastabout 15 moles of diethanolamine per mole of copper and, still moretypically, from about 15 to about 20 moles of diethanolamine per mole ofcopper. The preferred turnover ratios described hereinabove are realizedby multiple recycles of catalyst mass or multiple passes of catalystthrough the reactor. In a fixed or fluid bed reaction system, theultimate turnover ratio reflects the frequency with which the catalystmass or catalyst bodies are removed from the reaction system and/orregenerated for further use, and the volume of reactants and productsflowing through the bed between successive catalyst regeneration orremoval operations.

Diethanolamine may be introduced to the dehydrogenation reaction zonecontinuously or intermittently to be contacted with the catalyst to forma product mixture comprising disodium iminodiacetic acid. Likewise,product mixture my be continuously or intermittently withdrawn from theproduct mixture.

When the catalyst is recycled and/or reused through multiple reactioncycles or passes, migration of the metal deposited on the carbon supporttends to occur during one or more of the initial reaction cycles orpasses. In a continuous fixed or fluid bed system, such migration tendsto occur during the early hours of operation. Generally, deposited metalparticles tend to migrate from less stable to more stable portions ofthe surface of the carbon support. This migration due to instability ofone or more sites is generally complete after the initial (i.e., firstand second) reaction cycles of a batch system, or the early passes orother operation of a continuous system, thereby providing a catalystwhich exhibits suitable stability throughout multiple reaction cycles,passes, etc.

When the dehydrogenation is conducted in a continuous reactor system,the residence time in the reaction zone can vary widely depending on thespecific catalyst and conditions employed. Likewise, when thedehydrogenation is conducted in a batch reactor, the reaction timetypically will also vary widely depending on such factors. Normally, thedehydrogenation behaves as a first order reaction, particularly towardthe end of the reaction. Thus, the preferred residence time in acontinuous reaction zone (or the preferred reaction time in a batchreaction zone) will also depend on the desired degree of conversion.

Various iminodiacetic acid compounds (preferably alkali metal salts ofiminodiacetic acid, and even more preferably a sodium salt ofiminodiacetic acid) produced using the dehydrogenation catalyst of thisinvention may be used as raw materials to prepareN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine and agronomically acceptable salts ofN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine. Salts of iminodiacetic acid, for example,may be phosphonomethylated in a reaction zone containing HCl,phosphorous acid (H₃PO₃), and formaldehyde (CH₂O) to formN-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid as disclosed for example in U.S.Pat. No. 4,775,498 (Gentilcore). The N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiaceticacid may, in turn, be contacted with oxygen in the presence of theoxidation catalyst disclosed herein to oxidatively cleave acarboxymethyl group to form N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine. Moreover,N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine prepared in accordance with the presentinvention may be further processed in accordance with many well-knownmethods in the art to produce agronomically acceptable salts ofN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine commonly used in herbicidal glyphosatecompositions. As used herein, an “agronomically acceptable salt” isdefined as a salt which contains a cation(s) that allows agriculturallyand economically useful herbicidal activity of anN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine anion. Such a cation may be, for example, analkali metal cation (e.g., a sodium or potassium ion), an ammonium ion,an isopropyl ammonium ion, a tetra-alkylammonium ion, a trialkylsulfonium ion, a protonated primary amine, a protonated secondary amine,or a protonated tertiary amine.

The present invention is illustrated by the following examples which aremerely for the purpose of illustration and not to be regarded aslimiting the scope of the invention or the manner in which it may bepracticed.

EXAMPLES Example 1 Electroless Copper Plating on Bulk Metal Carbides andNitrides

This example details electroless copper plating on bulk metal carbidesand nitrides.

Bulk molybdenum carbide (20.0 g) (Aldrich Chemical Co., Milwaukee, Wis.)was added to a 2 l flask containing deionized water (200 ml) and amagnetic stirring bar to form a slurry.

A copper plating solution was prepared by adding reagent grade sodiumpotassium tartrate (NaKC₄H₄O₆.4H₂O) (29.99 g) (Aldrich Chemical Co.,Milwaukee, Wis.), copper sulfate (CuSO₄.5H₂O) (11.79 g) (AldrichChemical Co., Milwaukee, Wis.), a 50 wt. % solution of sodium hydroxide(NaOH) (13.60 g) (Aldrich Chemical Co., Milwaukee, Wis.) and 37 wt. %formaldehyde (CH₂O) (11.35 ml) (Aldrich Chemical Co., Milwaukee, Wis.)to deionized water (950 ml) to form approximately 1 liter of platingsolution in a 2 liter flask.

Plating solution was added to the carbide slurry incrementally over thecourse of about 40 minutes with approximately 60 ml of the platingsolution added to the slurry every 2.5 minutes. Addition of platingsolution to the carbide slurry and the plating reaction were carried outin a nitrogen atmosphere formed by flowing N₂ above the reactionsolution.

The pH of the plating solution was monitored using a pH meter to detectreductions in the pH of the plating slurry caused by consumption ofsodium hydroxide. Plating was allowed to proceed until the pH of theslurry reached approximately 8.0. After plating was complete, the slurrywas filtered under the nitrogen atmosphere and the resulting wet cakewas dried in a nitrogen purged vacuum for approximately 8 hours.

The wet cake was then weighed to determine the plating of copper on thebulk molybdenum carbide. The weight gain of the bulk molybdenum carbideindicated copper plating of from 90% to approximately 100% of the copperpresent in the plating solution.

Example 2 Synthesis of a Precursor for Use in Preparing Carbon-SupportedMolybdenum Carbides (Mo₂C/C) and Carbon-Supported Molybdenum Nitrides(Mo₂N/C)

This example details the preparation of a precursor for use in preparingcarbon-supported molybdenum carbides and nitrides.

A carbon support (20.0 g) having a B.E.T. surface area of 1067 m²/g(Degussa Corporation) was added to a 1 l beaker containing deionizedwater (300 ml) and a magnetic stirring bar to form a slurry.

A solution (60 ml) containing ammonium molybdate ((NH₄)₂MoO₄) (4.236 g)(Aldrich Chemical Co., Milwaukee, Wis.) in deionized water was added tothe carbon slurry using a MasterFlex® meter pump (MasterFlex® L/S®)manufactured by Cole-Parmer Instrument Company (Vernon Hills, Ill.). Theslurry was agitated by a mechanical stirrer while the molybdenumsolution was added to the carbon slurry at a rate of 2.0 ml/min over thecourse of about 30-40 minutes. During addition of the molybdenumsolution to the carbon slurry, the pH of the resulting mixture wasmaintained at approximately 4.0 by co-addition of diluted nitric acid(approximately 5-10 ml) (Aldrich Chemical Co., Milwaukee, Wis.). Thecarbon slurry was agitated during the deposition process and acid wasadded in 5-10 ml increments when the pH of the slurry was above 4.0.

After addition of the molybdenum solution to the carbon slurry wascomplete, the slurry was agitated for approximately 30 minutes. The pHof the mixture was then adjusted to around 3.0 by addition of dilutednitric acid (2-5 ml) (Aldrich Chemical Co., Milwaukee, Wis.) and onceagain agitated for approximately 30 minutes.

The resulting mixture was filtered and washed with approximately 800 mlof deionized water and the wet cake was dried in a nitrogen purgedvacuum oven at 120° C. overnight.

Example 3 Synthesis of Carbon-Supported Molybdenum Carbide Containing15% by Weight Molybdenum Carbide (15% Mo₂C/C)

This example details preparation of a carbon-supported molybdenumcarbide using a carbon-supported molybdenum carbide precursor preparedin accordance with the procedure set forth above in Example 2.

The carbide precursor (8.0 g) was charged into a Hastelloy C tubereactor packed with high temperature insulation material which waspurged with argon introduced to the reactor at 100 cm³/min at about 20°C. for approximately 15 minutes. A thermocouple was inserted into thecenter of the reactor for charging of the precursor material.

The temperature of the reactor was then raised to about 300° C. over thecourse of 30 minutes during which time a 50%/50% (v/v) mixture ofmethane and hydrogen (Airgas Co., St. Louis, Mo.) was introduced to thereactor at a rate of about 100 cm³/min.

The temperature of the reactor was then increased to approximately 650°C. at a rate of approximately 2° C./min. The reactor was maintained atthis temperature and under a flow of 50%/50% (v/v) mixture of methaneand hydrogen (Airgas Co., St. Louis, Mo.) was introduced to the reactorat a rate of about 100 cm³/min for approximately 4 hours. During thisperiod of constant temperature a molybdenum carbide composition wasformed on the carbon support.

The resulting carbide was then cleaned by contact with a 20%/80% (v/v)flow of a mixture of hydrogen and argon introduced to the reactor at arate of about 100 cm³/min. The temperature of the reactor was maintainedat about 650° C. for approximately another 30 minutes after which timethe reactor was cooled to approximately 20° C. over the course of 90minutes under a flow of argon at 100 cm³/min.

Example 4 Synthesis of Carbon-Supported Molybdenum Nitride Containing15% by Weight Molybdenum Nitride (15% Mo₂N/C)

This example details preparation of a carbon-supported molybdenumnitride using a 15% carbon-supported molybdenum nitride precursorprepared in accordance with the procedure set forth above in Example 2.

The nitride precursor (10.0 g) was charged into a Hastelloy C tubereactor packed with high temperature insulation material which waspurged with argon introduced to the reactor at 100 cm³/min at about 20°C. for approximately 15 minutes.

The temperature of the reactor was then raised to about 300° C. over thecourse of 30 minutes during which time ammonia (Airgas Co., St. Louis,Mo.) was introduced to the reactor at a rate of about 100 cm³/min.

The temperature of the reactor was then increased to approximately 800°C. at a rate of approximately 2° C./min. The reactor was maintained atthis temperature and under a flow of ammonia at a rate of about 100cm³/min for approximately 4 hours. During this period of constanttemperature, the reactor was maintained under flow of ammonia introducedto the reactor at a rate of about 100 cm³/min.

A molybdenum nitride composition was formed on the carbon support. Thereactor was cooled to approximately 20° C. over the course of 90 minutesunder flow of 100 cm³/min of argon.

Example 5 Quality of Plating of Copper on Carbon Supported Nitride

The quality of plating of copper on carbon supported metal nitrideprepared in accordance with the method set forth above in Example 4 wasexamined as determined by the percent of molybdenum leaching from thecarbon support. The carbon supported nitride prepared contained 10% byweight nitride. A nitriding operation as described above in Example 4was performed using different maximum temperatures (T_(max)) at aconstant holding time of 1 hour. The results are summarized below inTable 1. TABLE 1 Results of Cu plating and Mo leaching at varyingT_(max) and a holding time of 1 hour T_(max) (° C.) 700 750 800 850 900Cu plating yield (%) >99 >99 >99 >99 >99 Weight gain in % of 66 73 77 8583 Cu Mo leaching (%) 44 45 23 40 32

Example 6 Quality of Copper Plating on Carbon Supported Nitride

The quality of plating of copper on a carbon-supported metal nitrideprepared in accordance with the method set forth above in Example 4 wasexamined as determined by the percent of molybdenum leaching from thecarbon support. The carbon supported metal nitride prepared contained10% by weight nitride. A nitriding operation as described above inExample 4 was carried out using a maximum temperature (T_(max)) of 800°C. and a holding time of 4 hours. The results are summarized below inTable 2. TABLE 2 Results of Cu plating and Mo leaching at T_(max) of800° C. and a holding time of 4 hours Cu Plating yield (%) >99 WeightGain in % of Cu 93 Mo Leaching (%) 7

Example 7 Quality of Copper Plating on Carbon Supported Carbide

The quality of plating of copper on carbon-supported metal carbidesprepared in accordance with the method set forth above in Example 3 wasexamined as determined by the percent of molybdenum leaching from thecarbon support. The carbon supported carbide prepared contained 10% byweight carbide. A carbiding operation as described above in Example 3was performed using different maximum temperatures (T_(max)) at aconstant holding time of 1 hour. The results are summarized below inTable 3. TABLE 3 Results of Cu plating and Mo leaching at varyingT_(max) and a holding time of 1 hour T_(max) (° C.) 600 650 700 750 800Cu plating 98 >99 <5 <5 0 yield (%) Weight gain 47 67 0 0 in % of Cu Moleach (%) 58 53

Example 8 Quality of Copper Plating on Carbon Supported Carbide

The quality of plating of copper on a carbon-supported metal carbideprepared in accordance with the method set forth above in Example 3 wasexamined as determined by the percent of molybdenum leaching from thecarbon support. The carbon supported carbide contained 10% by weightcarbide. A carbiding operation as described above in Example 3 wascarried out using a maximum temperature (T_(max)) of 650° C. and aholding time of from 1 to 8 hours. The results are summarized below inTable 4. TABLE 4 Results of Cu plating and Mo leaching at T_(max) of650° C. and varying holding times Holding Time 1 2 4 8 Cuplating >99 >99 >99 yield (%) Weight gain in 67 100 % of Cu Mo leaching(%) 53 1 7

Example 9 Stability of Carbon-Supported Carbides Under ConditionsSuitable to Dehydrogenate Diethanolamine to Form Disodium IminodiaceticAcid

Carbon-supported carbides prepared in accordance with the methods setforth above using each of four carbon supports were tested in accordanceusing the procedure set forth below.

The supports may be described as follows: Surface Area Support (m²/g)No. 1 1041 No. 2 1150 No. 3 1067 No. 4 1567

Dehydrogenation of diethanolamine was conducted in a 300 ml autoclavereactor constructed of Hastelloy C (high strength nickel-based alloy)and equipped with a back pressure regulator, H₂ mass flow meters, and acharge pot which allowed reagents and rinse water to be added to thereactor under inert gas.

To test the stability of the various carbon-supported carbidecompositions during the dehydrogenation conditions, a catalystcontaining 22% Cu by weight, 3% Pt by weight on a carbon support wascharged to the reactor along with the carbon-supported carbidecompositions.

The reactor was first flushed with argon (when conducting this reactionon a commercial scale, N₂ would be preferred). A mixture containing a 50wt. % solution of sodium hydroxide (99.81 g) (Aldrich Chemical Co.,Milwaukee, Wis.), diethanolamine (62.50 g) (Huntsman Chemicals) anddeionized water (75 ml) was sparged with N₂ and introduced into thereactor along with N₂-sparged deionized water (40 ml). The reactor wasthen sealed and flushed with N₂. During the reaction, the mixture wascontinuously stirred, the pressure was maintained at 135 psig using theback pressure regulator, and the temperature was maintained at about150° C.

The reaction was allowed to proceed for approximately 3 hours andsamples were removed from the reactor at the outset, after the reactionwas allowed to proceed for 1.5 hours, and after the reaction hadproceeded for 3 hours.

The samples were analyzed to determine the stability of thecarbon-supported carbide under the dehydrogenation conditions based onthe amount of molybdenum leached from the carbide as determined by theamount of molybdenum present in the samples removed from the reactordetermined using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry.

The carbon-supported carbide catalysts are referred to according to itssupport. For example, Catalyst No. 1 refers to a carbon-supportedcarbide catalyst including Support No. 1. One dehydrogenation cycle wasrun to test each of Catalyst No. 1, Catalyst No. 2, and Catalyst No. 3while two dehydrogenation cycles were run to test Catalyst No. 4. Thefirst run to test the stability of Catalyst No. 4 was carried out usingonly the carbon-supported carbide catalyst while the second run includedthe 22% Cu by weight, 3% Pt by weight on a carbon support.

The results are shown in Table 5. The percentage of leaching measured ata reaction time of 0 is substantially due to reaction of unconvertedmolybdenum oxide with sodium hydroxide. The percentage of leaching at areaction time of 90 minutes and 3 hours includes that present atreaction time of 0 along with possible leaching from the carbide formedduring the reaction. For example, as shown below in Table 5 for CatalystNo. 1, molybdenum leaching corresponding to 2.1% of the weight percentof total molybdenum during the first 90 minutes of reaction was from thesurface of the carbide formed during that time. While in certaininstances the leaching at a reaction time of 3 hours appears to bereduced, based on experimental error these results indicate that theamount of leaching remained substantially constant after a reaction timeof 1.5 hours. TABLE 5 Stability of carbon-supported molybdenum carbidesunder dehydrogenation conditions Molybdenum Leaching (wt. % of total Mo)t = 1.5 Catalyst t = 0 hours t = 3 hours No. 1 1.6% 3.7% 4.5% No. 2 4.4%6.7% 4.5% No. 3 3.3% 4.5% 4.4% No. 4 (cycle 1) 4.9% 14.5%  No. 4 (cycle2) 1.6% 0.9% 0.9%

Table 6 shows the composition of the reactor at the sampling times.TABLE 6 Reaction time DEA HEG IDA DSIDA (hours) (wt. %) (wt. %) (wt. %)(wt. %) 0 22.88 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.5 17.59 6.50 1.50 2.00 3 5.51 15.096.87 9.14

Reactor sample components:

-   Diethanolamine (DEA)-   N-(2-hydroxyethyl)glycine (HEG)-   Iminodiacetic acid (IDA)-   Disodium iminodiacetic acid (DSIDA)

Example 10 Stability of Carbon-Supported Nitrides Under ConditionsSuitable to Dehydrogenate Diethanolamine to Form Disodium IminodiaceticAcid

Carbon-supported nitrides prepared in accordance with the methods setforth above using two different carbon supports were tested inaccordance with the procedure set forth below. The supports may bedescribed as follows: Surface Area Support (m²/g) No. 1 1041 No. 2. 1150

Dehydrogenation of diethanolamine was conducted in a 300 ml autoclavereactor constructed of Hastelloy C (high strength nickel-based alloy)and equipped with a back pressure regulator, H₂ mass flow meters, and acharge pot which allowed reagents and rinse water to be added to thereactor under inert gas.

To test the stability of the carbon-supported nitride compositionsduring the dehydrogenation conditions, a catalyst containing 22% Cu byweight, 3% Pt by weight on a carbon support was charged to the reactoralong with the carbon-supported carbide compositions.

The reactor was first flushed with argon (when conducting this reactionon a commercial scale, N₂ would be preferred). A mixture containing a 50wt. % solution of sodium hydroxide (99.81 g) (Aldrich Chemical Co.,Milwaukee, Wis.), diethanolamine (62.50 g) (Huntsman Chemicals) anddeionized water (75 ml) was sparged with N₂ and introduced into thereactor along with N₂-sparged deionized water (40 ml). The reactor wasthen sealed and flushed with N₂. During the reaction, the mixture wascontinuously stirred, the pressure was maintained at 135 psig using theback pressure regulator and the temperature was maintained at about 150°C. When the H₂ generation from the reaction decreased to cm³/min, thereactor was cooled, and N₂-sparged deionized water (80 ml) was added tothe reactor.

The reaction was allowed to proceed for approximately 3 hours andsamples were removed from the reactor at the outset, after the reactionwas allowed to proceed for 1.5 hours, and after the reaction hadproceeded for 3 hours.

The samples were analyzed to determine the stability of thecarbon-supported nitrides under the dehydrogenation conditions based onthe amount of molybdenum leached from the nitride as determined by theamount of molybdenum present in the samples removed from the reactor.

The carbon-supported nitride catalysts are referred to according to itssupport. For example, Catalyst No. 1 refers to a carbon-supportednitride catalyst including Support No. 1. One dehydrogenation cycle wasrun to test Catalyst No. 1 and No. 2. The results are shown in Table 7.TABLE 7 Stability of carbon-supported molybdenum nitrides underdehydrogenation conditions Molybdenum Leaching (wt. % of total Mo) t =1.5 Nitride t = 0 hours t = 3 hours No. 1 ˜5% 6.0% 4.4% No. 2 ˜5% 10.1% 7.5%

The percentage of leaching measured at a reaction time of 0 issubstantially due to reaction of unconverted molybdenum oxide withsodium hydroxide. The percentage of leaching at a reaction time of 90minutes and 3 hours includes that present at reaction time of 0 alongwith possible leaching from the nitride formed during the reaction. Forexample, as shown for Catalyst No. 1, molybdenum leaching correspondingto approximately 0.9% of the weight percent of total molybdenum duringthe first 90 minutes of reaction was from the surface of the carbideformed during that time. While in certain instances the leaching at areaction time of 3 hours appears to be reduced, based on experimentalerror these results indicate that the amount of leaching remainedsubstantially constant after a reaction time of 1.5 hours.

Example 11 Preparation of Catalyst Containing Copper on Carbon-SupportedMolybdenum Carbide

This example details preparation of a catalyst containing acarbon-supported molybdenum carbide and copper.

A carbon-supported molybdenum carbide (6.70 g) prepared in accordancewith the method set forth above in Example 3 and containing 15% byweight molybdenum carbide was added to deionized water (200 ml) in a 1liter flask containing a magnetic stirring bar to form a slurry.

A copper plating solution (total volume approximately 500 ml) wasprepared by adding reagent grade sodium potassium tartrate(NaKC₄H₄O₆.4H₂O) (15 g) (Aldrich Chemical Co., Milwaukee, Wis.), coppersulfate (CuSO₄.5H₂O) (5.90 g) (Aldrich Chemical Co., Milwaukee, Wis.), a50 wt. % solution of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) (6.80 g) (Aldrich ChemicalCo., Milwaukee, Wis.) and 37 wt. % formaldehyde (CH₂O) (5.70 ml)(Aldrich Chemical Co., Milwaukee, Wis.) to deionized water (450 ml) in a1 liter flask.

The carbide slurry and plating solution were both cooled to about 2° C.in a nitrogen (N₂) atmosphere while stirred with a magnetic stirringbar. After cooling, plating solution was added to the carbide slurryunder the nitrogen atmosphere incrementally over the course ofapproximately 30 minutes with 16 ml of plating solution being added tothe carbide slurry every minute. After addition of the plating solutionto the carbide slurry was complete, the resulting mixture was agitatedfor about 2 hours at approximately 3° C. using a magnetic stirring bar.Plating was monitored using by the drop in pH of the mixture caused byconsumption of sodium hydroxide. The pH of the mixture is monitoredusing a pH meter and plating continued until the pH of the mixturedropped below 8. The mixture was filtered under the nitrogen atmospherewhich produced a wet cake. The resulting wet cake was washed with water(200 ml), packed, and dried in a nitrogen purged vacuum oven at 120° C.for approximately 8 hours.

Based on metal analysis of the resulting filtrate, the resulting solidwas determined to have a composition of 18 wt. % copper, 11 wt. %carbide with the balance consisting of the carbon support. (18% Cu-11%Mo₂C/C).

Example 12 Preparation of Catalyst Containing Copper on Carbon-SupportedMolybdenum Carbide

This example details preparation of a catalyst containing acarbon-supported molybdenum carbide and copper.

A carbon-supported molybdenum carbide (6.97 g) prepared in accordancewith the method set forth above in Example 3 and containing 15% byweight molybdenum carbide was added to deionized water (200 ml) in a 1liter flask containing a magnetic stirring bar to form a slurry.

A copper plating solution (total volume approximately 500 ml) wasprepared by adding reagent grade sodium potassium tartrate(NaKC₄H₄O₆.4H₂O) (15 g) (Aldrich Chemical Co., Milwaukee, Wis.), coppersulfate (CuSO₄.5H₂O) (5.90 g) (Aldrich Chemical Co., Milwaukee, Wis.),and a 50 wt. % solution of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) (6.80 g) (AldrichChemical Co., Milwaukee, Wis.) to deionized water (450 ml) in a 1 literflask.

The carbide slurry and plating solution were both cooled to from about0-2° C. in a nitrogen (N₂) atmosphere. After cooling, the platingsolution and carbide slurry were mixed under the nitrogen atmosphere andagitated for approximately 30 minutes using a magnetic stirring bar.Following the agitation, a mixture of 37 wt. % formaldehyde (CH₂O) (5.70ml) (Aldrich Chemical Co., Milwaukee, Wis.) in 20 ml deionized water wasadded to the slurry at approximately 3° C. for approximately 30 minutesusing MasterFlex® meter pump.

The temperature of the mixture was then raised to approximately 13° C.over the course of approximately one hour and maintained at thistemperature until the mixture became substantially colorless. This tookfrom 10 to 15 minutes after which time the mixture was filtered underthe nitrogen atmosphere which produced a wet cake. The resulting wetcake was washed with water (200 ml), packed wet, and dried in a nitrogenpurged vacuum oven at 120° C. for approximately 8 hours.

Based on metal analysis of the resulting filtrate, the resulting solidwas determined to have a composition of 19 wt. % copper, 10 wt. %carbide with the balance consisting of the carbon support. (19% Cu-10%Mo₂C/C).

Example 13 Preparation of Catalyst Containing Copper on Carbon-SupportedMolybdenum Carbide

This example details preparation of a catalyst containing acarbon-supported molybdenum carbide and copper.

A carbon-supported molybdenum carbide (6.30 g) prepared in accordancewith the method set forth above in Example 3 and containing 13% byweight molybdenum carbide was added to deionized water (200 ml) in a 1liter flask containing a magnetic stirring bar to form a slurry.

A copper plating solution (total volume approximately 500 ml) wasprepared by adding reagent grade ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA,C₁₀H₁₆O₈N₂) (13.74 g) (Aldrich Chemical Co., Milwaukee, Wis.), coppersulfate (CUSO₄.5H₂O) (5.90 g) (Aldrich Chemical Co., Milwaukee, Wis.),and a 50 wt. % solution of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) (6.80 g) (AldrichChemical Co., Milwaukee, Wis.) and 37 wt. % formaldehyde (CH₂O) (0.15ml) to deionized water 450 ml) in a 1 liter flask.

The carbide slurry and plating solution were both cooled to from about0-2° C. in a nitrogen (N₂) atmosphere. After cooling, the platingsolution and carbide slurry were mixed under the nitrogen atmosphere andagitated for approximately 15 minutes using a magnetic stirring bar.Following the agitation, a mixture of 37 wt. % formaldehyde (CH₂O) (5.70ml) (Aldrich Chemical Co., Milwaukee, Wis.) in deionized water was addedto the mixture which was agitated at approximately 2° C. forapproximately 10 minutes using a magnetic stirring bar.

The temperature of the mixture was then raised to approximately 18° C.over the course of approximately 20 minutes and maintained at thistemperature until the mixture became substantially colorless. This tookfrom about 10 to 15 minutes after which time the mixture was filteredunder the nitrogen atmosphere which produced a wet cake. The resultingwet cake was washed with water (200 ml), packed wet, and dried in anitrogen purged vacuum oven at 120° C. for approximately 8 hours.

Based on metal analysis of the resulting filtrate, the resulting solidwas determined to have a composition of 19 wt. % copper, 10 wt. %carbide with the balance consisting of the carbon support. (19% Cu-10%Mo₂C/C).

Example 14 Use of a Catalyst Containing Copper Deposited on aCarbon-Supported Molybdenum Carbide for the Dehydrogenation ofDiethanolamine to Disodium Iminodiacetic Acid

This example details use of the catalyst prepared in accordance with theprocedure set forth above in Example 11 for the dehydrogenation ofdiethanolamine to produce disodium iminodiacetic acid over the course of8 reaction cycles.

The dehydrogenation was conducted in a 300 ml Parr autoclave continuousstirred tank reactor able to be operated in a batch or continuousmanner. The reactor was operated batch-wise for each of the 8 reactioncycles of the present example. The reactor was constructed of HastelloyC (high strength nickel-based alloy) and equipped with a back pressureregulator, H₂ mass flow meters, and a charge pot which allowed reagentsand rinse water to be added to the reactor under inert gas.

Catalyst (7.0 g) prepared in accordance with the method set forth abovein Example 7, 50 wt. % sodium hydroxide (55.90 g) (Aldrich Chemical Co.,Milwaukee, Wis.), diethanolamine (35.11 g) (Huntsman Chemicals) andwater (42.44 g) were charged in this sequence to the reactor to form amixture.

The reactor was set at a maximum volume of approximately 170 ml and thetotal amount of mixture charged (140.45 g) provided proper hydrogendisengagement. High-pressure bottle N₂ at a pressure of 3000 psig wasused to inert the reaction headspace and bring the reaction to thestarting pressure of approximately 135 psig.

During the reaction, the mixture was continuously stirred and thepressure maintained at approximately 135 psig using a control valvemanufactured by Badger Research. Reaction temperature was maintained atabout 150° C. during the entire reaction.

The reaction was allowed to proceed for approximately 3 hours duringwhich time a Brooks onstream thermal mass flow sensor (Model No.5860IA13VB2EA) was used to monitor the reaction based on the amount ofhydrogen generated in the reaction mixture.

After the reaction was allowed to proceed for approximately 3 hours, thereaction mass was cooled to approximately 90° C. and the reactants wereseparated from the catalyst in situ using a 0.5 μm metal sintered frit(Mott Corporation, Hartford, Conn.). Samples of the reaction mass wereanalyzed using high pressure liquid chromatography (“HPLC”).

Seven additional dehydrogenation cycles were conducted in accordancewith the above conditions with similar amounts of diethanolamine beingcharged to the reactor.

The extent of reaction in terms of hydroxide conversion was determinedfor reaction cycles 1-7 by comparing the actual amount of hydrogengenerated to the theoretical amount of hydrogen to be generated in thereaction mixture based on the amount of diethanolamine charged to thereactor. The results are shown below in Table 8.

The compositions of the product samples from reaction cycles 1 and 2analyzed using HPLC are summarized below in Table 9. TABLE 8 ReactionCycle 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Amount of 35.11 35.09 35.10 35.09 35.00 35.1035.09 35.10 DEA charged to reactor Theoretical 1.34 1.33 1.34 1.33 1.331.34 1.33 1.34 H₂ gener- ation (mol) Actual H₂ 0.66 0.64 0.55 0.55 0.530.44 0.56 generation (mol) Hydroxide 49.49 48.27 41.48 41.51 39.99 32.8841.87 conversion (%)

TABLE 9 Composition of Dehydrogenation Product Samples Cycle No. 1 2 DEA(mol %) 10.77 11.73 HEG (mol %) 50.59 62.47 Glycine (mol %) 1.55 1.92IDA (mol %) 20.09 23.92 OH conversion (%) 55 56

Product Sample Components:

-   Diethanolamine (DEA)-   N-(2-Hydroxyethyl)glycine (HEG)-   Iminodiacetic acid (IDA)

Example 15 Use of a Catalyst Containing Copper on a Carbon-SupportedMolybdenum Carbide for the Dehydrogenation of Diethanolamine to DisodiumIminodiacetic Acid

Catalyst (7.2 g) prepared in accordance with the method set forth abovein Example 12, 50 wt. % sodium hydroxide (54.95 g) (Aldrich ChemicalCo., Milwaukee, Wis.), diethanolamine (35.04 g) (Huntsman Chemicals) andwater (46.74 g) were charged in this sequence to the reactor describedabove in Example 14 to form a mixture. Dehydrogenation of diethanolaminewas conducted using the same reaction conditions as in Example 14.

6 dehydrogenation cycles were conducted with similar amounts ofdiethanolamine charged to the reactor during each cycle. The results forthe extent of reaction during each of the 6 reaction cycles weredetermined based on the hydroxide conversion in accordance with themethod set forth above in Example 14 and are summarized below in Table10. TABLE 10 Cycle No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 DEA (g) 35.04 35.10 35.05 35.08 35.0435.05 Theoretical 1.33 1.34 1.33 1.33 1.33 1.33 H₂ generation (mol)Actual H₂ 0.56 0.54 0.39 0.43 0.38 0.29 generation (mol) Hydroxide 41.9240.77 29.51 32.47 28.85 22.09 conversion (%)

-   Diethanolamine (DEA)

Example 16 Use of a Catalyst Containing Copper on a Carbon-SupportedMolybdenum Carbide for the Dehydrogenation of Diethanolamine to DisodiumIminodiacetic Acid

Catalyst (7.0 g) prepared in accordance with the method set forth abovein Example 13, 50 wt. % sodium hydroxide (60.52 g) (Aldrich ChemicalCo., Milwaukee, Wis.), diethanolamine (39.16 g) (Huntsman Chemicals) andwater (49.40 g) were charged in this sequence to the reactor describedabove in Example 14 to form a mixture.

Dehydrogenation of diethanolamine was conducted using the same reactionconditions as in Example 10. 3 dehydrogenation cycles during which thereaction was allowed to proceed for about 4, 4.5 and 6 hours,respectively. Similar amounts of diethanolamine charged to the reactorduring each cycle. The results for the extent of reaction during each ofthe 3 reaction cycles were determined based on the hydroxide conversionin accordance with the method set forth above in Example 13 and aresummarized below in Table 11. TABLE 11 Cycle No. 1 2 3 Reaction time 4.04.5 6.0 hours hours hours DEA (g) 39.16 39.50 39.33 Theoretical H₂ 1.491.50 1.50 generation (mol) Actual H₂ 0.85 1.06 0.84 generation (mol)Hydroxide 56.89 70.40 55.89 conversion (%)

Example 17 Use of a Catalyst Containing Copper Deposited on aCarbon-Supported Molybdenum Carbide for the Dehydrogenation ofDiethanolamine to Disodium Iminodiacetic Acid

This example details use of 12% Cu-13% Mo₂C/D1015 catalyst prepared inaccordance with the procedure set forth above in Example 14 for thedehydrogenation of diethanolamine to produce disodium iminodiacetic acidover the course of 3 reaction cycles.

The dehydrogenation was conducted in a 300 ml Parr autoclave continuousstirred tank reactor able to be operated in a batch or continuousmanner. The reactor was operated batch-wise for each of the 3 reactioncycles of the present example. The reactor was constructed of HastelloyC (high strength nickel-based alloy) and equipped with a back pressureregulator, H₂ mass flow meters, and a charge pot which allowed reagentsand rinse water to be added to the reactor under inert gas.

Catalyst (7.5 g) prepared in accordance with the method set forth abovein Example 7 (12% by weight copper and 13% by weight molybdenum carbideand the balance support having a surface area of 1067 m²/g), 50 wt. %sodium hydroxide (59.6 g) (Aldrich Chemical Co., Milwaukee, Wis.),diethanolamine (37.45 g) (Huntsman Chemicals) and deionized water (36.10g) were charged in this sequence to the reactor to form a mixture.

The reactor was set at a maximum volume of approximately 170 ml and thetotal amount of mixture charged (140.64 g) provided proper hydrogendisengagement. High-pressure bottle N₂ at a pressure of 3000 psig wasused to inert the reaction headspace and bring the reaction to thestarting pressure of approximately 135 psig.

During the reaction, the mixture was continuously stirred and thepressure maintained at approximately 135 psig using a control valvemanufactured by Badger Research. Reaction temperature was maintained atabout 150° C. during each of the reaction cycles.

The reaction was allowed to proceed for approximately 3 hours duringwhich time a Brooks onstream thermal mass flow sensor (Model No.5860IA13VB2EA) was used to monitor the reaction based on the amount ofhydrogen generated in the reaction mixture.

The extent of reaction in terms of hydroxide conversion was determinedby comparing the actual amount of hydrogen generated to the theoreticalamount of hydrogen to be generated in the reaction mixture based on theamount of diethanolamine charged to the reactor. The results for theextent of reaction during each of the 3 reaction cycles are summarizedbelow in Table 12. TABLE 12 Reaction Cycle 1 2 3 Theoretical H₂ 32.1 l32.1 l 32.3 l Generation (liters) Actual H₂ 19.9 l 17.1 Generation(liters) Hydroxide 62% 53% conversion (%) Molybdenum 7.1% 1.9% 0.6%leaching (wt % of total Mo)

Example 18 Use of Molybdenum Carbide in the Oxidation ofN-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid

A 8.2% by weight solution of N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid(PMIDA) (11.48 g) in water (127.8 ml) was charged to a 1 L Parr reactortogether with molybdenum carbide at a loading of 1.3% (1.84 g). Prior tobeing charged to the reactor the molybdenum carbide was subjected to ahelium atmosphere at a temperature of approximately 800° C. forapproximately 1 hour.

The reactor was pressurized to 60 psig in the presence of a nitrogenatmosphere and the reaction mixture was heated to 100° C. The reactionwas allowed to proceed for approximately 1 hour under a flow of 100cc/min of pure oxygen.

Samples of the reaction product were removed from the reactor andanalyzed to determine the conversion of N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiaceticacid. HPLC analysis indicated a conversion of PMIDA toN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine of approximately 18.2% and a conversion offormaldehyde to formic acid of approximately 33.9%.

Example 19 Preparation of Carbon-Supported Molybdenum Catalyst

This example details preparation of a carbon-supported molybdenumcatalyst.

Activated carbon (10.2 g) was added to water (160 ml) at a temperatureof approximately 20° C. The mixture was stirred for approximately 40minutes to form a slurry of the carbon support.

Phosphomolybdic acid (H₃Mo₁₂O₄₀P) (0.317 g) was dissolved in water (30ml) to form a solution which was added to the support slurry. Themixture containing the phosphomolybdic acid was then stirred for 30minutes after which time the solid was filtered, washed with deionizedwater and dried in a vacuum at 120° C. for approximately 8 hours.

The dried carbon-supported molybdenum compound was then subjected to areduction operation in a 5% hydrogen in helium atmosphere at atemperature of from about 800 or 900° C.

Example 20 Use of a Carbon-Supported Molybdenum Carbide Catalyst in theOxidation of N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid

This example details use of a carbon-supported molybdenum catalystprepared in accordance with the method set forth above in Example 19 inthe oxidation of N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid.

A 4.1% by weight solution of N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid(PMIDA) (5.74 g) in water (133.8 g) was charged to a 1 L Parr reactortogether with the carbon-supported molybdenum catalyst at a loading of0.309% (0.432 g). The reactor was pressurized to 60 psig in a nitrogenatmosphere and the reaction mixture was heated to approximately 100° C.

The reaction was allowed to proceed for approximately 80 minutes under aflow of 100 cc/min of pure oxygen. Four reaction cycles were performedand catalyst from the previous cycle was used in each of the final 3cycles.

Samples from the reaction mixtures produced during the third and fourthreaction cycles were analyzed. HPLC analysis of these samples indicatedconversions of PMIDA to N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine during the third andfourth cycles were approximately 86.2% and 86.9%, respectively. Theconversions of formaldehyde to formic acid during the third and fourthcycles were approximately 30.0% and 34.4%, respectively.

Example 21 Use of Carbon-Supported Molybdenum in the Oxidation ofN-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid

This example details the use of carbon-supported molybdenum catalystprepared in accordance with the method set forth above in Example 19 inthe oxidation of N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid.

A 4.11% by weight solution of N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid(PMIDA) (5.74 g) in water (133.8 g) was charged to a 1 L Parr reactortogether with the carbon-supported molybdenum catalyst at a loading of0.155% (0.216 g).

The reactor was pressurized to 60 psig in a nitrogen atmosphere and thereaction mixture was heated to approximately 100° C. The reaction wasallowed to proceed for approximately 15 minutes under a flow of 100cc/min of pure oxygen.

A sample was removed from the reaction mixture and analyzed. HPLCanalysis indicated a conversion of PMIDA to N-(phosphonomethyl)glycineof approximately 6.8% and a conversion of formaldehyde to formic acid ofapproximately 17.4%.

Example 22

This example details the preparation of a carbon-supportediron-containing catalyst precursor.

A particulate carbon support (10.0 g) having a Langmuir surface area ofapproximately 1500 m²/g was added to a 1 liter flask containingdeionized water (400 ml) to form a slurry. The pH of the slurry wasapproximately 8.0 and the temperature approximately 20° C.

Iron chloride (FeCl₃.6H₂O) (0.489 g) was added to a 100 ml beakercontaining deionized water (30 ml) to form a clear solution. The ironsolution was added incrementally over the course of 15 minutes (i.e., ata rate of approximately 2 ml/minute). The pH of the carbon slurry wasmaintained at from about 4 to about 4.4 by co-addition of a 0.1 wt. %solution of sodium hydroxide (Aldrich Chemical Co., Milwaukee, Wis.).Approximately 5 ml of 0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxide solution was added tothe carbon slurry during addition of the iron solution. The pH of theslurry was monitored using a pH meter (Thermo Orion Model 290).

After addition of the iron solution to the carbon slurry was complete,the slurry was stirred for 30 minutes using a mechanical stirring rod(at 50% output) (IKA-Werke RW16 Basic) with pH of the slurry monitoredusing the pH meter and maintained at approximately 4.4 by dropwiseaddition of 0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxide or 0.1 wt. % HNO₃.

The slurry was then heated under a nitrogen blanket to 70° C. at a rateof about 2° C. per minute while its pH was maintained at 4.4. Uponreaching 70° C., the slurry pH was slowly raised by addition of 0.1 wt.% sodium hydroxide (5 ml) according to the following pH profile: the pHwas maintained at approximately 5.0 for 10 minutes, increased to 5.5,maintained at 5.5 for approximately 20 minutes at pH 5.5, and stirredfor approximately 20 minutes during which time a constant pH of 6.0 wasreached.

The resulting mixture was filtered and washed with a plentiful amount ofdeionized water (approximately 500 ml) and the wet cake was dried forapproximately 16 hours in a vacuum oven at 120° C. The precursorcontained approximately 1.0% by weight iron.

Example 23

This example details the preparation of a carbon-supportediron-containing catalyst using a precursor prepared in accordance withthe procedure set forth above in Example 22.

Iron-containing precursor (5.0 g) was charged into a Hastelloy C tubereactor packed with high temperature insulation material. The reactorwas purged with argon introduced to the reactor at a rate ofapproximately 100 cm³/min at approximately 20° C. for approximately 15minutes. A thermocouple was inserted into the center of the reactor forcharging the precursor material.

The temperature of the reactor was then raised to approximately 300° C.over the course of approximately 15 minutes during which time a 10%/90%(v/v) mixture of acetonitrile and argon (Airgas, Inc., Radnor, Pa.) wasintroduced to the reactor at a rate of approximately 100 cm³/minute. Thetemperature of the reactor was then increased to approximately 950° C.over the course of 30 minutes during which time the 10%/90% (v/v)mixture of acetonitrile and argon flowed through the reactor at a rateof approximately 100 cm³/minute. The reactor was maintained atapproximately 950° C. for approximately 120 minutes. The reactor wascooled to approximately 20° C. over the course of 90 minutes under aflow of argon at approximately 100 cm³/minute.

The resulting catalyst contained approximately 1% by weight iron.

Example 24

This example details the use of various of various noble-metal andnon-noble-metal-containing catalysts in the oxidation of PMIDA toN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine.

A 0.5% by weight iron containing catalyst was prepared in accordancewith the procedure set forth above in Example 23. Its precursor wasprepared in accordance with the procedure set forth above in Example 22(FeCl₃.6H₂O) using a solution containing iron chloride (FeCl₃.6H₂O)(0.245 g) in deionized water (60 ml) which was contacted with the carbonsupport slurry.

The 0.5% by weight iron catalyst was used to catalyze the oxidation ofPMIDA to glyphosate (curve 6 of FIG. 8). Its performance was comparedto: (1) 2 samples of a 5% platinum, 0.5% iron particulate carboncatalyst prepared in accordance with Ebner et al., U.S. Pat. No.6,417,133, Samples 1 and 2 (curves 1 and 4, respectively, of FIG. 8);(2) a particulate carbon catalyst designated MC-10 prepared inaccordance with Chou, U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,772 (curve 3 of FIG. 8); (3) a1% Fe containing catalyst precursor prepared in accordance with theprocedure set forth above in Example 22 treated in accordance with thecatalyst preparation procedure described in Example 23 using argon inplace of acetonitrile (curve 2 of FIG. 8); and (4) a particulate carbonsupport having a Langmuir surface area of approximately 1500 m²/g whichwas treated with acetonitrile in accordance with the procedure set forthabove in Example 23 used to prepare the 1% by weight iron catalyst(curve 5 of FIG. 8).

In each instance, the PMIDA oxidation was conducted in a 200 ml glassreactor containing a total reaction mass (200 g) which included 5.74% byweight PMIDA (11.48 g) and 0.11% catalyst (0.22 g). The oxidation wasconducted at a temperature of 100° C., a pressure of 60 psig, a stirrate of 100 revolutions per minute (rpm), and an oxygen flow rate of 150cm³/minute for a run time of 50 minutes.

The maximum CO₂ percentage in the exit gas and cumulative CO₂ generatedwere used as indicators of the degree of oxidation of PMIDA,formaldehyde, and formic acid during the reaction.

FIG. 8 shows the percentage of CO₂ in the exit gas during a firstreaction cycle carried out using the six different catalysts.

As shown in FIG. 8, the 0.5% by weight iron catalyst exhibited greateractivity than the MC10 catalyst and exhibited comparable activity ascompared to 5% Pt/0.5% Fe/C catalysts. Also shown in FIG. 8, theacetonitrile-treated carbon support and argon-treated precursor showedlittle activity. Table 13 shows the CO₂ in the exit gas and cumulativeCO₂ generated in the reaction cycle using each of the 6 catalystsamples. TABLE 13 Cumulative CO₂ number after 50 minute runtime MaximumCO₂ % in Cumulative CO₂ Catalyst exit gas (cm³) 5% Pt/0.5% Fe/C, 41.452140 Sample 1 5% Pt/0.5% Fe/C, 37.4 2021 Sample 2 MC-10 20.02 1255 Artreated 1% Fe/C 6.29 373 CH₃CN treated 8.79 533 carbon 0.5% FeCN/C 33.341742

Example 25

The performance of iron containing catalysts of varying iron loadings(0.5%, 0.75%, 1%, and 2% by weight iron) was tested in the oxidation ofPMIDA to N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine.

The 0.5% by weight iron catalyst prepared in accordance with Example 24and the 1% by weight iron catalyst prepared in accordance with Example23 were tested along with a 0.75% by weight iron catalyst and 2% byweight iron catalyst.

The precursors of the 0.75% and 2% iron catalysts were prepared inaccordance with the procedure set forth above in Example 22 usingvarying amounts of iron chloride (FeCl₃.6H₂O), depending on the desiredcatalyst loading. For the catalyst containing 0.75% by weight iron, asolution containing iron chloride (0.366 g) in deionized water (60 ml)was prepared and contacted with the carbon support slurry.

For the catalyst containing 2.0% by weight iron, a solution containingiron chloride (0.988 g) in deionized water (60 ml) was prepared andcontacted with the carbon support slurry.

Each of the catalysts was tested under the PMIDA oxidation reactionconditions as set forth in Example 24.

FIG. 9 shows the first cycle CO₂ profiles for the various catalysts.Curve 1 of FIG. 9 corresponds to the first cycle using the 2% Fecatalyst, curve 2 of FIG. 9 corresponds to the first cycle using the 1%Fe catalyst, curve 3 of FIG. 9 corresponds to the first cycle using the0.75% Fe catalyst, and curve 4 of FIG. 9 corresponds to the first cycleusing the 0.5% Fe catalyst. As shown, the catalyst containing 0.5% byweight iron demonstrated the highest activity.

Table 14 shows HPLC results for the product mixtures of the reactionscarried out using the 1% by weight iron catalyst prepared as in Example23 and a 5% platinum, 0.5% iron catalyst prepared in accordance withEbner et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,133. The table shows theN-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid (PMIDA), -(phosphonomethyl)glycine(Gly), formaldehyde (FM), formic acid (FA), iminodiacetic acid (IDA),aminomethylphosphonic acid and methyl aminomethylphosphonic acid((M)AMPA), N-meth-N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine (NMG),amino-bis-(methylene)-bis-phosphonic acid (iminobis), and phosphate ion(PO₄) content of the reaction mixture. TABLE 14 HPLC results for 5%platinum, 0.5% iron 6,417,133 catalyst and 1% FeCN/C catalyst after 50minute runtime 5% Pt/0.5% Fe/C 1% FeCN/C PMIDA (%) 0.0108 ND Gly (%)3.76 3.63 FM (ppm) 1427 6115 FA (ppm) 3030 2100 IDA (%) 0.0421 0.0058AMPA/MAMPA (ppm) 758 2231 NMG (ppm) 78 138 Iminobis (ppm) 230 256 PO₄(ppm) 385 107

Example 26

This example details preparation of a carbon-supported cobalt-containingcatalyst precursor containing 1% by weight cobalt.

A particulate carbon support (10.0 g) having a Langmuir surface area ofapproximately 1500 m²/g was added to a 1 liter flask containingdeionized water (400 ml) to form a slurry. The pH of the slurry wasapproximately 8.0 and the temperature approximately 20° C.

Cobalt chloride (CoCl₂.2H₂O) (0.285 g) (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo.)was added to a 100 ml beaker containing deionized water (60 ml) to forma clear solution. The cobalt solution was added to the carbon slurryincrementally over the course of 30 minutes (i.e., at a rate ofapproximately 2 ml/minute). The pH of the carbon slurry was maintainedat from about 7.5 and about 8.0 during addition of the cobalt solutionby co-addition of a 0.1 wt % solution of sodium hydroxide (AldrichChemical Co., Milwaukee, Wis.). Approximately 1 ml of 0.1 wt. % sodiumhydroxide solution was added to the carbon slurry during addition of thecobalt solution. The pH of the slurry was monitored using a pH meter(Thermo Orion, Model 290).

After addition of the cobalt solution to the carbon slurry was complete,the slurry was stirred using a mechanical stirring rod operating at 50%of output (Model IKA-Werke RW16 Basic) for approximately 30 minutes; thepH of the slurry was monitored using the pH meter and maintained atabout 8.0 by dropwise addition of 0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxide (1 ml) or0.1 wt. % HNO₃ (1 ml). The slurry was then heated under a nitrogenblanket to 45° C. at a rate of about 2° C. per minute while maintainingthe pH at 8.0 by dropwise addition of 0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxide (1 ml)or 0.1 wt. % HNO₃ (1 ml). Upon reaching 45° C., the slurry was stirredusing the mechanical stirring bar described above for 20 minutes atconstant temperature of 45° C. and a pH of 8.0. The slurry was thenheated to 50° C. and its pH was adjusted to 8.5 by addition of 0.1 wt. %sodium hydroxide solution (5 ml); the slurry was maintained at theseconditions for approximately 20 minutes. The slurry was then heated to60° C., its pH adjusted to 9.0 by addition of 0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxidesolution (5 ml) and maintained at these conditions for approximately 10minutes.

The resulting mixture was filtered and washed with a plentiful amount ofdeionized water (approximately 500 ml) and the wet cake was dried forapproximately 16 hours in a vacuum oven at 120° C. The precursorcontained approximately 1.0% by weight cobalt.

Example 27

This example details the preparation of a carbon-supportedcobalt-containing catalyst using a precursor prepared in accordance withthe procedure set forth above in Example 26.

Cobalt-containing catalyst precursor prepared as described above inExample 26 (5.0 g) was charged into a Hastelloy C tube reactor packedwith high temperature insulation material. The reactor was purged withargon introduced to the reactor at a rate of approximately 100 cm³/minat approximately 20° C. for approximately 15 minutes. A thermocouple wasinserted into the center of the reactor for charging the precursormaterial.

The temperature of the reactor was then raised to approximately 700° C.during which time a 50%/50% (v/v) mixture of hydrogen and methane(Airgas, Inc., Radnor, Pa.) was introduced to the reactor at a rate ofapproximately 20 cm³/minute and argon at a rate of approximately 100cm³/min. The reactor was maintained at approximately 700° C. forapproximately 120 minutes.

The reactor was cooled to approximately 20° C. over the course of 90minutes under a flow of argon at approximately 100 cm³/minute.

The resulting catalyst contained approximately 1% by weight cobalt.

A 1% cobalt-containing catalyst from the precursor prepared as describedin Example 26 was also prepared as described in Example 23 usingacetonitrile.

Example 28

The performance of cobalt containing catalysts of varying cobaltloadings (0.75%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2%) were tested in the oxidation of PMIDAunder the conditions described above in Example 24. The 1%cobalt-containing catalyst was prepared as described in Example 27 usingacetonitrile.

The precursors of the 0.5%, 0.75%, and 2% by weight cobalt catalystswere prepared in accordance with the procedure set forth above inExample 26 using varying amounts of cobalt chloride (COCl₂.2H₂O),depending on the desired catalyst loading. The catalysts were thenprepared in accordance with the procedure described in Example 27 usingacetonitrile.

For the catalyst containing 0.75% by weight cobalt, a solutioncontaining cobalt chloride (0.214 g) in deionized water (60 ml) wasprepared and contacted with the carbon support slurry.

For the catalyst containing 1.5% by weight cobalt, a solution containingcobalt chloride (0.428 g) in deionized water (60 ml) was prepared andcontacted with the carbon support slurry.

For the catalyst containing 2.0% by weight cobalt, a solution containingcobalt chloride (0.570 g) was prepared and contacted with the carbonsupport slurry.

FIG. 10 shows the first cycle CO₂ profiles using the various catalysts.Curve 1 of FIG. 10 corresponds to the first cycle using the 0.75% Cocatalyst, curve 2 of FIG. 10 corresponds to the first cycle using the 1%Co catalyst, curve 3 of FIG. 10 corresponds to the first cycle using the1.50% Co catalyst, and curve 4 of FIG. 10 corresponds to the first cycleusing the 2.0% Co catalyst.

As shown in FIG. 10, catalysts containing from 1-1.5% cobaltdemonstrated the highest activity.

The HPLC results for the product streams of the four PMIDA reactioncycles using the 1% cobalt catalyst and first four reaction cycles usingthe 5% Pt/0.5% Fe/C catalyst prepared in accordance with Ebner et al.,U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,133 described are summarized below in Table 15.

The table shows the N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid (GI),N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine (Gly), formaldehyde (FM), formic acid (FA),iminodiacetic acid (IDA), aminomethylphosphonic acid and methylaminomethylphosphonic acid ((M)AMPA), N-methy-N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine(NMG), imino-bis-(methylene)-bis-phosphonic acid (iminobis), andphosphate ion (PO4) content of the reaction mixture for the variouscycles. TABLE 15 HPLC results for 5% Pt/0.5% Fe/C and 1% CoCN/Ccatalysts after 50 minute runtime (M) PMIDA Gly FM FA IDA AMPA NMGIminobis PO₄ Cycle (%) (%) (ppm) (ppm) (%) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) 5%Pt/ 1 0.0108 3.76 1427 3030 0.0421 758 78 230 385 0.5% Fe/C 2 0.00883.57 1554 3336 0.0261 643 128 228 258 4 0.0135 3.91 2094 4057 0.0133 632259 227 171 6 0.0149 3.80 2257 3942 0.0099 510 313 240 150 1% CoCN/C 10.0160 3.81 1551 8243 1245 167 236 294 2 0.0171 3.86 1316 8669 860 180225 381 3 0.0205 4.03 1263 9174 737 174 230 444 4 0.0177 4.05 1239 9340653 214 232 471

Example 29

This example compares the stability of a 1% iron catalyst prepared asdescribed in Example 23, a 1% cobalt catalyst prepared as described inExample 27 using acetonitrile, a particulate carbon catalyst containing5% by weight Pt, 0.5% by weight iron prepared in accordance with Ebneret al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,133, and a particulate carbon catalystdesignated MC-10 prepared in accordance with Chou, U.S. Pat. No.4,696,772.

Each of the catalysts were used in PMIDA oxidation under the conditionsdescribed above in Example 24 for multiple reaction cycles.

FIG. 11 shows the CO₂ percentage in the exit gas during each of fourreaction cycles (labeled accordingly) carried out using the 1% ironcatalyst.

FIG. 12 shows the CO₂ percentage in the exit gas during each of fourreaction cycles (labeled accordingly) carried out using the 1% cobaltcatalyst.

FIG. 13 shows the CO₂ percentage in the exit gas during each of sixreaction cycles (labeled accordingly) carried out using the 5% Pt/0.5%Fe/C catalyst.

FIG. 14 shows the CO₂ percentage in the exit gas during each of tworeaction cycles (labeled accordingly) carried out using the MC-10catalyst.

The iron-containing catalyst exhibited a drop in activity after thefirst cycle, possibly due to overoxidation of the catalyst. Minordeactivations were observed in later cycles where the catalyst was notoveroxidized. The 5% Pt/0.5% Fe/C was the most stable. The 1% cobaltcatalyst showed similar stability to the 5% Pt/0.5% Fe/C catalyst. TheMC10 catalyst exhibited the worst stability, even in the absence ofoveroxidation of the catalyst.

Example 30

This example details the preparation of various carbon-supportedmetal-containing catalysts.

Precursors were prepared for catalysts containing vanadium, tellurium,molybdenum, tungsten, ruthenium, and cerium generally in accordance withExample 22 disclosure detailing preparation of an iron-containingcatalyst precursor with variations in the pH and heating scheduledepending the metal to be deposited.

Preparation of vanadium precursor: Na₃VO₄.10H₂O (0.721 g) was added to a100 ml beaker containing deionized water (60 ml) to form a solutionwhich was contacted with the carbon support slurry. The pH of the carbonsupport slurry was maintained at from about 3.4 to about 3.7 byco-addition of a 0.1 wt. % solution of nitric acid. Approximately 5 mlof nitric acid was added to the carbon slurry during addition of thevanadium solution. After addition of the vanadium solution to the carbonslurry was complete, the slurry was stirred for 30 minutes usingmechanical stirring rod operating at 50% of output (Model IKA-Werke RW16Basic) with pH of the slurry monitored using the pH meter describedabove and maintained at approximately 3.6 by addition of nitric acid(0.1 wt. % solution) (2 ml).

The resulting mixture was filtered and washed with a plentiful amount ofdeionized water (approximately 500 ml) and the wet cake was dried forapproximately 16 hours in a vacuum oven at 120° C. The precursorcontained approximately 1% by weight vanadium.

Preparation of tellurium precursor: Te(OH)₆ (0.092 g) was added to a 100ml beaker containing deionized water (60 ml) to form a solution whichwas contacted with the carbon support slurry. The pH of the carbonsupport slurry was maintained at from about 6.5 to about 6.9 byco-addition of a 0.1 wt. % solution of sodium hydroxide. Approximately 2ml of 0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxide solution was added to the carbon slurryduring addition of the tellurium solution. After addition of thetellurium solution to the carbon slurry was complete, the slurry wasstirred for 30 minutes with pH of the slurry monitored using the pHmeter and maintained at approximately 6.7 by addition of 0.1 wt. %sodium hydroxide solution (1-2 ml).

The pH was maintained at pH of 6.0, 5.0, 4.0, 3.0, 2.0, and 1.0 for 10minutes each.

The resulting mixture was filtered and washed with a plentiful amount ofdeionized water (approximately 500 ml) and the wet cake was dried forapproximately 16 hours in a vacuum oven at 120° C. The precursorcontained approximately 1% by weight tellurium.

Preparation of molybdenum precursor: (NH₄)₂MoO₄ (0.207 g) was added to a100 ml beaker containing deionized water (50 ml) to form a solutionwhich was contacted with the carbon support slurry. The pH of the carbonsupport slurry was maintained at from about 1.5 to about 2.0 byco-addition of a 0.1 wt. % solution of nitric acid. Approximately 5 mlof 0.1 wt. % nitric acid was added to the carbon slurry during additionof the molybdenum solution. After addition of the molybdenum solution tothe carbon slurry was complete, the slurry was stirred for 30 minuteswith pH of the slurry monitored using the pH meter and maintained atapproximately 2.0 by addition of 0.1 wt. % nitric acid. The pH was thenincreased to 3.0 by addition of 0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxide, maintainedat 3.0 for 20 minutes, increased to 4.0 by addition of 0.1 wt. % sodiumhydroxide solution, and maintained at 4.0 for 20 minutes.

The resulting mixture was filtered and washed with a plentiful amount ofdeionized water (approximately 500 ml) and the wet cake was dried forapproximately 16 hours in a vacuum oven at 120° C. The precursorcontained approximately 1% by weight molybdenum.

Preparation of tungsten precursor: (NH₄)₆W₁₂O₃₉.2H₂O (0.135 g) was addedto a 100 ml beaker containing deionized water (60 ml) to form a solutionwhich was contacted with the carbon support slurry. The pH of the carbonsupport slurry was maintained at from about 3.0 to about 3.2 byco-addition of a 0.1 wt. % solution of sodium hydroxide. Approximately 2ml of nitric acid was added to the carbon slurry during addition of thetungsten solution. After addition of the tungsten solution to the carbonslurry was complete, the slurry was stirred for 30 minutes with pH ofthe slurry monitored using the pH meter and maintained at approximately3.0 by addition of 0.1 wt. % nitric acid solution.

The pH was then decreased to 2.5 by addition of 0.1 wt. % nitric acidsolution, maintained at 2.5 for 10 minutes, decreased to 2.0 by additionof 0.1 wt. % nitric acid solution, and maintained at 2.0 for 10 minutes.

The resulting mixture was filtered and washed with a plentiful amount ofdeionized water (approximately 500 ml) and the wet cake was dried forapproximately 16 hours in a vacuum oven at 120° C. The precursorcontained approximately 1% by weight tungsten.

Preparation of ruthenium precursor: RuCl₃.2H₂O (0.243 g) was added to a100 ml beaker containing deionized water (50 ml) to form a solutionwhich was contacted with the carbon support slurry. The pH of the carbonsupport slurry was maintained at from about 3.0 to about 3.5 byco-addition of a 0.1 wt. % solution of sodium hydroxide. Approximately 1ml of sodium hydroxide was added to the carbon slurry during addition ofthe ruthenium solution. After addition of the ruthenium solution to thecarbon slurry was complete, the slurry was stirred for 30 minutes withpH of the slurry monitored using the pH meter and maintained atapproximately 3.5 by addition of 0.1 wt. % nitric acid solution.

The pH was then increased to 4.2 by addition of 0.1 wt. % sodiumhydroxide (1 ml), maintained at 4.2 for 10 minutes, increased to 5.0 byaddition of 0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxide solution (1 ml), maintained at5.0 for 10 minutes, increased to 5.7 by addition of 0.1 wt. % sodiumhydroxide (1 ml), and maintained at 5.7 for 10 minutes.

The resulting mixture was filtered and washed with a plentiful amount ofdeionized water (approximately 500 ml) and the wet cake was dried forapproximately 16 hours in a vacuum oven at 120° C. The precursorcontained approximately 1% by weight ruthenium.

Preparation of cerium precursor: Ce (NO₃)₃.6H₂O (0.117 g) was added to a100 ml beaker containing deionized water (50 ml) to form a solutionwhich was contacted with the carbon support slurry. The pH of the carbonsupport slurry was maintained at from about 7.0 to about 7.5 byco-addition of a 0.1 wt. % solution of sodium hydroxide. Approximately 1ml of sodium hydroxide was added to the carbon slurry during addition ofthe cerium solution. After addition of the cerium solution to the carbonslurry was complete, the slurry was stirred for 30 minutes with pH ofthe slurry monitored using the pH meter and maintained at approximately7.5 by addition of 0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxide solution (1 ml).

The pH was then increased to 8.0 by addition of 0.1 wt. % sodiumhydroxide (1 ml), maintained at 8.0 for 20 minutes, increased to 9.0 byaddition of 0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxide (1 ml), maintained at 9.0 for 20minutes, increased to 10.0 by addition of 0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxidesolution (1 ml), and maintained at 10.0 for 20 minutes.

The resulting mixture was filtered and washed with a plentiful amount ofdeionized water (approximately 500 ml) and the wet cake was dried forapproximately 16 hours in a vacuum oven at 120° C. The precursorcontained approximately 1% by weight cerium.

Precursors were also prepared for catalysts containing nickel, chromium,manganese, magnesium, copper, and silver generally in accordance withExample 26 disclosure detailing preparation of a cobalt-containingcatalyst precursor with variations in the pH and heating scheduledepending on the metal to be deposited.

Preparation of nickel precursor: NiCl₂.6H₂O (0.409 g) was added to a 100ml beaker containing deionized water (60 ml) to form a solution whichwas contacted with the carbon support slurry. The pH of the carbonsupport slurry was maintained at from about 7.5 to about 8.0 byco-addition of a 0.1 wt. % solution of sodium hydroxide. Approximately 2ml of sodium hydroxide was added to the carbon slurry during addition ofthe nickel solution. After addition of the nickel solution to the carbonslurry was complete, the slurry was stirred for 30 minutes with pH ofthe slurry monitored using the pH meter and maintained at approximately8.0 by addition of 0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxide solution (1 ml). Theslurry was then heated under a nitrogen blanket to 40° C. at a rate ofabout 2° C. per minute while maintaining its pH at 8.5 by addition of0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxide solution. Upon reaching 60° C., the slurrywas stirred for 20 minutes at constant temperature of 40° C. and a pH of8.5. The slurry was then heated to 50° C. and its pH was adjusted to 9.0by addition of sodium hydroxide solution (2 ml); the slurry wasmaintained at these conditions for approximately 20 minutes. The slurrywas then heated to 60° C., its pH adjusted to 10.0 by addition of sodiumhydroxide solution (2 ml) and maintained at these conditions forapproximately 20 minutes.

The resulting mixture was filtered and washed with a plentiful amount ofdeionized water (approximately 500 ml) and the wet cake was dried forapproximately 16 hours in a vacuum oven at 120° C. The precursorcontained approximately 1% by weight nickel.

Preparation of chromium precursor: CrCl₃.6H₂O (0.517 g) was added to a100 ml beaker containing deionized water (50 ml) to form a solutionwhich was contacted with the carbon support slurry. The pH of the carbonsupport slurry was maintained at from about 7.0 to about 7.5 byco-addition of a 0.1 wt. % solution of sodium hydroxide. Approximately 1ml of sodium hydroxide was added to the carbon slurry during addition ofthe chromium solution. After addition of the chromium solution to thecarbon slurry was complete, the slurry was stirred for 30 minutes withpH of the slurry monitored using the pH meter and maintained atapproximately 7.5 by addition of sodium hydroxide. The slurry was thenheated under a nitrogen blanket to 60° C. at a rate of about 2° C. perminute while maintaining its pH at 8.0 by addition of 2 ml of 0.1 wt. %sodium hydroxide.

The resulting mixture was filtered and washed with a plentiful amount ofdeionized water (approximately 500 ml) and the wet cake was dried forapproximately 16 hours in a vacuum oven at 120° C. The precursorcontained approximately 1% by weight chromium.

Preparation of manganese precursor: MnCl₂.4H₂O (0.363 g) was added to a100 ml beaker containing deionized water (60 ml) to form a solutionwhich was contacted with the carbon support slurry. The pH of the carbonsupport slurry was maintained at from about 7.5 to about 8.0 byco-addition of a 0.1 wt. % solution of sodium hydroxide. Approximately 1ml of sodium hydroxide solution was added to the carbon slurry duringaddition of the manganese solution. After addition of the manganesesolution to the carbon slurry was complete, the slurry was stirred for30 minutes with pH of the slurry monitored using the pH meter andmaintained at approximately 7.4 by addition of sodium hydroxide. Theslurry was then heated under a nitrogen blanket to 45° C. at a rate ofabout 2° C. per minute while maintaining its pH at 8.0 by addition of 2ml of 0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxide solution. Upon reaching 60° C., theslurry was stirred for 20 minutes at constant temperature of 50° C. anda pH of 8.5. The slurry was then heated to 55° C. and its pH wasadjusted to 9.0 by addition of sodium hydroxide solution (2 ml); theslurry was maintained at these conditions for approximately 20 minutes.The slurry was then heated to 60° C., its pH adjusted to 9.0 by additionof sodium hydroxide solution (1 ml) and maintained at these conditionsfor approximately 20 minutes.

The resulting mixture was filtered and washed with a plentiful amount ofdeionized water (approximately 500 ml) and the wet cake was dried forapproximately 16 hours in a vacuum oven at 120° C. The precursorcontained approximately 1% by weight manganese.

Preparation of magnesium precursor: MgCl₂.6H₂O (0.420 g) was added to a100 ml beaker containing deionized water (50 ml) to form a solutionwhich was contacted with the carbon support slurry. The pH of the carbonsupport slurry was maintained at from about 8.5 to about 9.0 byco-addition of a 0.1 wt. % solution of sodium hydroxide. Approximately 5ml of sodium hydroxide solution was added to the carbon slurry duringaddition of the magnesium solution. After addition of the magnesiumsolution to the carbon slurry was complete, the slurry was stirred for30 minutes with pH of the slurry monitored using the pH meter andmaintained at approximately 8.5 by addition of 0.1 wt. % sodiumhydroxide solution (1 ml).

The pH of the slurry was then increased to 9.0 by addition of 0.1 wt. %sodium hydroxide solution (1 ml) and maintained at 9.0 for 30 minutes.

The resulting mixture was filtered and washed with a plentiful amount ofdeionized water (approximately 500 ml) and the wet cake was dried forapproximately 16 hours in a vacuum oven at 120° C. The precursorcontained approximately 1% by weight magnesium.

Preparation of copper precursor: CuCl₂ (1.11 g) was added to a 100 mlbeaker containing deionized water (60 ml) to form a solution which wascontacted with the carbon support slurry. The pH of the carbon supportslurry was maintained at from about 6.0 to about 6.5 by co-addition of a0.1 wt. % solution of sodium hydroxide. Approximately 1 ml of sodiumhydroxide was added to the carbon slurry during addition of the coppersolution. After addition of the copper solution to the carbon slurry wascomplete, the slurry was stirred for 30 minutes with pH of the slurrymonitored using the pH meter and maintained at approximately 6.5 byaddition of sodium hydroxide. The slurry was then heated under anitrogen blanket to 40° C. at a rate of about 20° C. per minute whilemaintaining its pH at 7.0 by addition of 0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxidesolution. Upon reaching 40° C., the slurry was stirred for 20 minutes atconstant temperature of 40° C. and a pH of 7.0 The slurry was thenheated to 50° C. and its pH was adjusted to 7.5 by addition of 0.1 wt. %sodium hydroxide solution (1 ml); the slurry was maintained at theseconditions for approximately 20 minutes. The resulting mixture wasfiltered and washed with a plentiful amount of deionized water(approximately 500 ml) and the wet cake was dried for approximately 16hours in a vacuum oven at 120° C. The precursor contained approximately5% by weight copper.

Preparation of silver precursor: AgNO₃ (0.159 g) was added to a 100 mlbeaker containing deionized water (60 ml) to form a solution which wascontacted with the carbon support slurry. The pH of the carbon supportslurry was maintained at from about 4.0 to about 4.5 by co-addition of a0.1 wt. % solution of nitric acid. Approximately 2 ml of nitric acidsolution was added to the carbon slurry during addition of the silversolution. After addition of the silver solution to the carbon slurry wascomplete, the slurry was stirred for 30 minutes with pH of the slurrymonitored using the pH meter and maintained at approximately 4.5 byaddition of nitric acid solution (2 ml).

The resulting mixture was filtered and washed with a plentiful amount ofdeionized water (approximately 500 ml) and the wet cake was dried forapproximately 16 hours in a vacuum oven at 120° C. The precursorcontained approximately 1% by weight silver.

Metal-containing catalysts containing 1% by weight metal (in the case ofcopper, 5% by weight) were prepared from each of the catalyst precursorsas described above in Example 23.

Example 31

Each of the catalysts prepared as described in Example 30 was tested inPMIDA oxidation under the conditions described in Example 24.

The maximum CO₂ percent composition in the exit gas and the total CO₂generated during the 50 minutes of reaction were used to measure thecatalysts' activity. The results are shown below in Table 16. TABLE 16First cycle reaction results for various MCN catalysts Total CO₂ after50 Catalyst CO₂ max in offgas minutes (cm³) 1% FeCN/C 25.93 1624 1%CoCN/C 36.5 1571 1% NiCN/C 7.36 343 1% VCN/C 11.69 676 1% CrCN/C 34.881809 1% MnCN/C 22.22 1526 5% CuCN/C 28.45 1571 1% MoCN/C 10.92 753 1%WCN/C 11.8 684 1% MgCN/C 13.4 830 1% TeCN/C 10.12 648 1% AgCN/C 12.09817 1% RuCN/C 17.77 1041 1% CeCN/C 16.54 1282

The carbon-supported cobalt-containing catalyst and chromium-containingcatalysts showed the highest PMIDA oxidation activity.

Example 32

This example details the effectiveness of various carbon-supportedcatalysts for the oxidation of formaldehyde and formic acid during PMIDAoxidation under the conditions described in Example 24.

Two methods were employed to evaluate the activity of variouscarbon-supported metal carbide-nitride catalysts in the oxidation offormaldehyde and formic acid: HPLC analysis of the reaction product andthe CO₂ drop-point measurement. The drop-point measurement is the totalamount of CO₂ that has passed through the exit gas at the moment asudden reduction in exit gas CO₂ composition is observed. As shown inFIG. 15, a particulate carbon catalyst containing 5% Pt/1% Fe preparedin accordance with Ebner et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,133 produces a CO₂drop-point around 1500-1600 cm³ of total CO₂ under the PMIDA oxidationconditions of Example 24 (curve 1 of FIG. 15). Also shown in FIG. 15, a1% cobalt-containing catalyst prepared as described above in Example 27using acetonitrile, exhibits a CO₂ drop point around 1300 cm³ under thePMIDA oxidation conditions of Example 24 (curve 2 of FIG. 15).

The 200-300 cm³ increase in total CO₂ of the 5% Pt/1% Fe catalystprepared in accordance with Ebner et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,133 may bedue to greater oxidation of formic acid as compared to the 1% cobaltcatalyst.

Table 17 shows the HPLC results of the PMIDA oxidation product usingvarious catalysts prepared as described above in Example 31: 1% byweight cobalt, 1% by weight manganese, 5% by weight copper, 1% by weightmagnesium, 1% by weight chromium, 1% by weight molybdenum, and 1% byweight tungsten. The carbon-supported cobalt carbide-nitride catalystshowed the highest formaldehyde oxidation activity. TABLE 17 HPLCresults for various MCN catalysts after 50 minute runtime PMIDA CatalystLoading Cycle (%) Gly (%) FM (ppm) FA (ppm) 1% CoCN/C 0.21 g 1 0.0163.81 1551 8243 0.21 g 2 0.017 3.86 1316 8669 1% MnCN/C 0.42 g 1 0.0213.28 4496 3711 5% CuCN/C 0.21 g 1 0.018 3.15 3143 5750 1% MgCN/C 0.63 g1 0.028 3.01 5503 2338 1% CrCN/C 0.21 g 1 0.044 3.20 5846 2287 1% MoCN/C0.63 g 1 0.058 3.51 4281 3230 1% WCN/C 0.21 g 1 2.654 1.90 1905 2223

Catalyst mixtures containing 50% by weight of the 1% by weight cobaltcatalyst prepared as described in Example 27 using acetonitrile and 50%by weight of one of the 1% nickel, 1% vanadium, 1% magnesium, and 1%tellurium catalysts prepared in accordance with Example 31 were preparedand tested under the PMIDA oxidation conditions described in Example 24to further test the activity toward oxidation of formaldehyde and formicacid. A drop point of approximately 1300 cm³ was observed for each ofthe 4 catalyst mixtures.

Example 33

This example details use of various promoters in combination with a 1%cobalt catalyst prepared as described above in Example 27 usingacetonitrile in PMIDA oxidation under the conditions described inExample 24.

The promoters tested were: bismuth nitrate (Bi(NO₃)₃), bismuth oxide(Bi₂O₃), tellurium oxide (TeO₂), iron chloride (FeCl₃), nickel chloride(NiCl₂), copper sulfate (CuSO₄), ammonium molybdate ((NH₄)2MoO₄), andammonium tungstate ((NH₄)₁₀W₁₂O₄₁).

The promoters were introduced to the reaction mixture at the outset ofthe reaction cycle. The promoters were introduced to the reactionmixture at varying loadings as shown in Table 18.

The maximum CO₂ concentration in the exit gas stream and the cumulativeCO₂ number were measured to determine the catalytic activity and the CO₂drop-point measurement was recorded to determine the catalytic formicacid oxidation activity. Table 18 shows the maximum CO₂ in the exit gasand the total CO₂ generated during a first 50 minute reaction cycle. TheCO₂ drop points for each of the catalysts were between about 1300 and1350 cm³. TABLE 18 First cycle reaction results from 1% CoCN/C (0.021 g)catalysts doped with promoters Total CO₂ after 50 Promoter CO₂ % max inoffgas minutes None 36.5 1571 20 mg Bi(NO₃)₃ 35.58 1571 25 mg Bi₂O₃ 33.41654 10 mg TeO₂ 36.31 1496 20 mg TeO₂ 35.39 1580 50 mg TeO₂ 37.81 1491 1mg FeCl₃ 36.2 1636 5 mg FeCl₃ 35.97 1646 5 mg NiCl₂ 34.69 1669 5 mgCuSO₄ 33.18 1594 5 mg (NH₄)₂MoO₄ 30.66 1635 5 mg (NH₄)₁₀W₁₂O₄₁ 31.041569

Example 34

This example details preparation of bi-metallic carbon-supportedcarbide-nitride catalysts and their use in PMIDA oxidation.

A catalyst containing 1% by weight cobalt and 0.5% by weight iron wasprepared in accordance with the process described above in Example 27using acetonitrile. The precursor for the 1% cobalt and 0.5% ironcatalyst was prepared by sequential deposition of each of the metals inaccordance with the methods described above in Examples 26 and 22,respectively.

Similarly, a catalyst containing 1% cobalt and 0.5% cerium was preparedin accordance with the process described above in Example 27 usingacetonitrile. The precursor for the 1% cobalt and 0.5% cerium catalystwas prepared by sequential deposition of each of the metals inaccordance with the methods described above in Examples 26 and 30,respectively.

A catalyst containing 1% cobalt and 0.5% copper was prepared inaccordance with the process described above in Example 27. The precursorfor the 1% cobalt and 0.5% copper catalyst was prepared by sequentialdeposition of each of the metals in accordance with the methodsdescribed above in Examples 26 and 30, respectively.

Each of the catalysts were tested in PMIDA oxidation under theconditions described in Example 24 over the course of four cycles. Thetime required to generate 1300 cm³ of CO₂ was determined for each of thecycles using each of the catalysts. For comparison purposes, a 1% byweight cobalt and 1.5% by weight cobalt catalyst, each prepared asdescribed in Example 28, were also tested in this manner. The resultsare shown in FIG. 16. As shown in FIG. 16, the 1.5% cobalt catalyst hadlower activity than the 1% cobalt catalyst but exhibited greaterstability. The cobalt-cerium catalyst exhibited improved stability ascompared to each of the cobalt catalysts but lower activity. Overall,the results indicated that the cobalt, cobalt-iron, and cobalt-ceriumcatalysts had similar formaldehyde oxidation activity.

HPLC results for the product when using the 1.5% cobalt catalyst and1.5% cobalt/0.5% copper catalyst are set forth in Table 19. Thecarbon-supported cobalt-copper catalyst converted more formaldehyde toformic acid than the carbon-supported cobalt carbide-nitride catalyst.TABLE 19 HPLC results from 1.5% CO/C and 1.5% Cu/C catalysts after 50min runtime (M) A Imin PMIDA Gly FM FA IDA MPA NMG obis PO₄ NFG GlycineCycle (%) (%) (ppm) (ppm) (%) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) 1.5%Co 1 0.013 4.22 1683 8476 0.007 842 355 232 309 1758 128 2 0.016 4.451634 9261 0.009 795 269 244 376 2254 161 3 0.016 4.47 1569 9665 0.010696 322 242 416 2240 180 4 0.015 4.39 1495 9516 0.009 622 266 238 4272248 187 1.5% Co) 1 0.009 4.27 1729 8930 0.007 1232 236 249 284 2134 1342 0.014 4.36 1442 9774 0.008 898 237 241 381 2314 182 5% Cu 3 0.016 4.351302 9975 0.009 750 201 234 444 2371 209 4 0.014 4.25 1237 9661 0.010626 214 231 469 2181 214

Example 35

This example details the use of a 1:1 mixture of 5% Pt/0.5% Fe catalystprepared in accordance with Ebner et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,133, andcarbon-supported catalysts containing 1% by weight cobalt in theoxidation of N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid prepared as describedabove in Example 27 using acetonitrile.

A mixture (0.210 g) was prepared containing 50% by weight of aparticulate carbon catalyst containing 5% by weight platinum and 0.5% byweight iron prepared in accordance with Ebner et al., U.S. Pat. No.6,417,133 and the 1% by weight cobalt catalyst (0.105 g). The catalystmixture was tested in PMIDA oxidation under the conditions set forthabove in Example 24 over the course of six reaction cycles. Aparticulate carbon catalyst 5% by weight platinum and 0.5% by weightiron prepared in accordance with Ebner et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,133was also tested in PMIDA oxidation under the conditions set forth abovein Example 24 over the course of six reaction cycles.

The maximum CO₂ proportion in the exit gas, total CO₂ generated duringeach of the reaction cycles, remaining formaldehyde content in thereaction, formic acid content in the reaction mixture, and platinumleaching are summarized below in Table 20. TABLE 20 Total CO₂ CO₂ % Maxafter 50 Pt Leaching Catalyst Cycle No. in offgas min (cc) FM (ppm) FA(ppm) (ppm) 6,417,133 1 39.37 1987 2021 3341 0.01 catalyst 2 35.58 19212016 3736 0.02 (0.21 g) 3 35.92 1897 4 34.72 1852 2357 4164 0.02 5 33.381836 6 32.94 1800 2485 4078 0.02 50/50 1 40.3 1736 1900 5986 <0.01mixture 2 37.36 1650 (0.21 g) 3 32.71 1538 1738 6985 0.01 4 27.59 1535 524.61 1499 1228 8280 0.01 6 22.65 1424

The catalyst mixture performed similarly to the 5% Pt/1% Fe catalyst inthe first cycle except the catalyst mixture exhibited a lower cumulativeCO₂ number possibly due to less oxidation of formic acid. During theremaining cycles, the catalyst mixture performed in a similar manner asthe 1% by weight cobalt catalyst and exhibited deactivation with theaccumulation of formic acid. Metal analysis showed minimal Pt leaching,indicating the platinum had been deactivated.

Example 36

This example details deposition of platinum onto a catalyst containing1% by weight cobalt prepared as described above in Example 27 usingacetonitrile.

A sample of the 1% by weight cobalt catalyst prepared in accordance withthe method described above in Example 27 (4.72 g) was added to a 1 literflask containing deionized water (400 ml) to form a slurry.

H₂PtCl₆.2H₂O (0.282) was dissolved in deionized water (80 ml) to form aclear solution. The platinum solution was added to the slurryincrementally over the course of 40 minutes (i.e., at a rate ofapproximately 2 ml/minute). The pH of the slurry was maintained at fromapproximately 3.8-4.4 by co-addition of a 0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxidesolution. Approximately 2 ml of 0.1 wt % sodium hydroxide solution wasadded to the slurry during addition of the platinum solution.

After addition of the solution to the slurry was complete, the slurrywas stirred for 30 minutes with the pH of the slurry maintained atapproximately 4.4 by addition of 0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxide solution.

The slurry was then heated under a nitrogen blanket to 70° C. at a rateof about 2° C. per minute while its pH was maintained at 4.4. Uponreaching 70° C., the slurry pH was increased by addition of a 0.1 wt. %sodium hydroxide solution according to the following profile: the pH wasmaintained at approximately 5.0 for 10 minutes after addition of 1 ml ofsodium hydroxide solution, increased to 5.5 by addition of 1 ml ofsodium hydroxide solution and maintained at that level for approximately20 minutes, and stirred for approximately 20 minutes, increased to 6.0by addition of 1 ml of 0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxide solution andmaintained for 10 minutes. A 12 wt. % solution of NaBH₄ (0.38 g) indeionized water (10 ml) was added to the slurry at a rate of 2ml/minute. The slurry was then heated to 70° C. under a nitrogen blanketwhile agitated.

The resulting mixture was filtered and washed with a plentiful amount ofdeionized water and the wet cake was dried for approximately 16 hours ina vacuum oven at 120° C.

After precursor deposition, platinum-containing catalyst (5.0 g) wascharged into the tube reactor described above in Example 23. The reactorwas purged with argon introduced to the reactor at a rate ofapproximately 100 cm³/min at approximately 20° C. for approximately 15minutes. A thermocouple was inserted into the center of the reactor forcharging the catalyst.

The temperature of the reactor was then increased to approximately 850°C. over the course of 120 minutes during which time a 5%/95% (v/v)mixture of hydrogen and argon was introduced to the reactor at a rate ofapproximately 100 cm³/minute.

The catalyst contained approximately 2.5% by weight platinum and 1% byweight cobalt.

Example 37

This example details deposition of platinum and iron onto a catalystcontaining 1% by weight cobalt prepared as described above in Example 27using acetonitrile.

A sample of the 1% by weight cobalt catalyst (4.72 g) was added to a 1liter flask containing deionized water (400 ml) to form a slurry.

H₂PtCl₆.2H₂O (0.282) and FeCl₃.6H₂O (0.071 g) were dissolved indeionized water (80 ml) to form a clear solution. The iron and platinumsolution was added to the slurry incrementally over the course of 40minutes (i.e., at a rate of approximately 2 ml/minute). The pH of theslurry was maintained at from approximately 4.0-4.4 by co-addition of a0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxide solution. Approximately 2 ml of sodiumhydroxide solution was added to the slurry during addition of theplatinum and iron solution.

After addition of the solution to the slurry was complete, the slurrywas stirred for 30 minutes with the pH of the slurry maintained atapproximately 4.4.

The slurry was then heated under a nitrogen blanket to 70° C. at a rateof about 2° C. per minute while its pH was maintained at 4.4. Uponreaching 70° C., the slurry pH was increased by addition of a 0.1 wt. %sodium hydroxide solution according to the following profile: the pH wasmaintained at approximately 5.0 for 10 minutes after addition of 1 ml of0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxide solution, increased to 5.5 by addition of 2ml of 0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxide solution and maintained at that levelfor approximately 20 minutes, and stirred for approximately 20 minutesduring which time a constant pH of 6.0 was reached. A 12 wt. % solutionof NaBH₄ (0.38 g) in deionized water (10 ml) was added to the slurry ata rate of 2 ml/minute. The slurry was then heated to 70° C. under anitrogen blanket while agitated.

The resulting mixture was filtered and washed with a plentiful amount ofdeionized water and the wet cake was dried for approximately 16 hours ina vacuum oven at 120° C.

After precursor deposition, platinum/iron-containing catalyst (5.0 g)was charged into the tube reactor described above in Example 22 andtreated in a hydrogen/argon atmosphere as described in Example 36.

The catalyst contained approximately 2.5% by weight platinum, 0.3% byweight iron, and 1% by weight cobalt.

Example 38

This example details deposition of platinum and cobalt onto a catalystcontaining 1% by weight cobalt prepared as described above in Example 27using acetonitrile.

A sample of the 1% by weight cobalt catalyst (5.055 g) was added to a 1liter flask containing deionized water (400 ml) to form a slurry.

H₂PtCl₆.2H₂O (0.302) and CoCl₂.2H₂O (0.044 g) were dissolved indeionized water (80 ml) to form a clear solution. The platinum solutionwas added to the slurry incrementally over the course of 40 minutes(i.e., at a rate of approximately 2 ml/minute). The pH of the slurry wasmaintained at from approximately 3.5-4.0 by co-addition of a 0.1 wt. %sodium hydroxide solution. Approximately 2 ml of sodium hydroxide wasadded to the slurry during addition of the platinum solution.

After addition of the solution to the slurry was complete, the slurrywas stirred for 30 minutes with the pH of the slurry maintained atapproximately 4.4 by addition of 1 ml of a 0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxidesolution.

The slurry was then heated under a nitrogen blanket to 70° C. at a rateof about 2° C. per minute while its pH was maintained at 4.4. Uponreaching 70° C., the slurry pH was increased by addition of a 0.1 wt. %sodium hydroxide solution according to the following profile: the pH wasmaintained at approximately 5.0 for 10 minutes after addition of 1 ml of0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxide solution, increased to 5.5 by addition of 2ml of 0.1 wt. % sodium hydroxide solution and maintained at that levelfor approximately 20 minutes, and stirred for approximately 20 minutesduring which time a constant pH of 6.0 was reached. The pH was thenincreased to approximately 8.0 by addition of 1 ml of 0.1 wt. % sodiumhydroxide solution and heated to 70° C. under a nitrogen blanket.

The resulting mixture was filtered and washed with a plentiful amount ofdeionized water and the wet cake was dried for approximately 16 hours ina vacuum oven at 120° C.

After precursor deposition, platinum/cobalt-containing catalyst (5.0 g)was charged into the tube reactor described above in Example 27 andtreated in a hydrogen/argon atmosphere as described in Example 36.

The catalyst contained approximately 2.5% by weight platinum and 1.3% byweight cobalt (1% from the preparation procedure described above inExample 27 and 0.3% from the deposition procedure detailed in thepresent example).

Example 39

This example details use of the catalysts prepared in Examples 36 to 38in PMIDA oxidation under the conditions described in Example 24.

The 2.5% platinum, 1% cobalt catalyst prepared in Example 36 was testedunder the PMIDA oxidation conditions described above in Example 24 overthe course of 3 reaction cycles.

The 2.5% platinum, 1% cobalt catalyst also containing an additional 0.3%by weight cobalt prepared in Example 38 was tested under the PMIDAoxidation conditions described above in Example 24 over the course of 3reaction cycles.

The 2.5% platinum, 0.3% iron, 1% cobalt catalyst prepared in Example 37was tested under the PMIDA oxidation conditions described above inExample 24 over the course of 2 reaction cycles.

The 2.5% platinum, 0.3% iron, 1% cobalt catalyst prepared in Example 37was also tested under the PMIDA oxidation conditions described above inExample 24 during a reaction cycle in which a bismuth oxide promoter(Bi₂O₃) (10 mg) was added to the reaction mixture.

The 2.5% platinum, 0.3% iron, 1% cobalt catalyst prepared in Example 37was also tested under the PMIDA oxidation conditions described above inExample 24 during 4 reaction cycles in which a bismuth oxide promoter(Bi₂O₃) (10 mg) was added to the reaction mixture during the fourthcycle.

The maximum CO₂ proportion in the exit gas, total CO₂ generated duringeach of the reaction cycles, remaining formaldehyde content in thereaction, formic acid content in the reaction mixture, and platinumleaching for each of the testings are summarized below in Table 21.TABLE 21 Reaction results from different catalysts Total CO₂ CO₂ % Maxafter 50 Pt Cycle Doped in minutes leaching Catalyst No. prometer offgas(cc) FM (ppm) FA (ppm) (ppm) 2.5% Pt/ 1 45.67 1922 1430 5003 0.02 1%CoCN/C 2 32.01 1551 989 8738 0.03 3 26.76 1524 963 9206 0.02 2.5% Pt- 142.49 1776 0.3% Co/ 2 36.16 1578 1% CoCN/C 3 31.96 1537 2.5% Pt- 1 39.371767 1461 6436 0.06 0.3% Fe/ 2 32.39 1590 1293 8242 0.06 1% CoCN/C 2.5%Pt- 1 10 mg Bi₂O₃ 39.5 2047 1368 2891 0.02 0.3% Fe/ 1% CoCN/C 2.5% Pt- 143.8 1787 0.02 0.3% Fe/ 2 37.03 1618 0.02 1% CoCN/C 3 32.53 1563 0.02 410 mg Bi₂O₃ 29.98 1539 0.01

The performance of each of the catalysts was similar to that of thecatalyst mixture prepared and tested in Example 35. The first cycleperformance of each of the catalysts was similar to the performance ofthe platinum and iron catalyst prepared in accordance with Ebner et al.,U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,133 tested above in Example 35, even though thecatalysts tested in the present example contained half the platinumloading. However, the catalysts tested in the present example declinedin subsequent cycles in both stability and activity toward formaldehydeand formic acid oxidation. Eventually the catalysts tested in thepresent example behaved similar to the 1% cobalt-containing catalystsdescribed and tested above in Example 28 in terms of an increase informic acid content without its further oxidation to CO₂. Each of thecatalysts exhibited minimal platinum leaching, evidence that the Pt hadbecome inactive.

The bismuth promoter was introduced in certain reaction cycles todetermine if the platinum was initially inactive in the fresh mixedcatalyst or whether it became inactive in subsequent cycles.

When bismuth was introduced to the reaction mixture in the 1st reactioncycle, catalyst performance was at least equal to that of the platinumand iron-containing catalyst prepared in accordance with Ebner et al.,U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,133 described and tested above in Example 35 interms of formaldehyde and formic acid oxidation. This indicated that thePt was active in the first reaction cycle.

When bismuth was added in the 4th reaction cycle, catalyst performancewas not affected. The platinum/iron-containing catalyst responded toinclusion of a bismuth promoter the same manner as the 1% cobaltcatalyst described and tested above in Example 28. This suggested thatthe initially active Pt in the platinum/iron-containing catalyst wasrendered inactive in subsequent reaction cycles.

Example 40

Various carbon-supported cobalt carbide-nitride catalysts were preparedin accordance with the process described above in Example 27 generallyby varying the atmosphere introduced to the reactor.

Methane/hydrogen environment: A carbon-supported cobalt carbide-nitridecatalyst containing 1% by weight cobalt was prepared as described inExample 27 under a methane/hydrogen environment from the precursorprepared in accordance with the procedure set forth above in Example 26.Catalyst precursor (5.0 g) was treated in the reactor using a flow of100 cm³/minute of a 50%/50% (v/v) mixture of methane and hydrogen.

Ammonia reactor environment: A carbon-supported cobalt carbide-nitridecatalyst containing 1% by weight cobalt was prepared as described inExample 27 under an NH₃ environment from the precursor prepared inaccordance with the procedure set forth above in Example 26. Catalystprecursor (5.0 g) was treated in the reactor using a flow of 50cm³/minute NH₃ and 100 cm³/minute of argon.

Ammonia reactor environment: A carbon-supported cobalt carbide-nitridecatalyst containing 1% by weight cobalt was prepared as described inExample 27 under an NH₃ environment from the precursor prepared inaccordance with the procedure set forth above in Example 26. Catalystprecursor (5.0 g) was treated in the reactor using a flow of 50cm³/minute NH₃, 20 cm³/minute hydrogen, and 100 cm³/minute of argon.

Ammonia/methane reactor environment: A carbon-supported cobaltcarbide-nitride catalyst containing 1% by weight cobalt was prepared asdescribed in Example 27 under an NH₃/CH₄ environment from the precursorprepared in accordance with the procedure set forth above in Example 26.Catalyst precursor (5.0 g) was treated in the reactor using a flow of 25cm³/minute NH₃, 25 cm³/minute of a 50%/50% (v/v/) mixture ofhydrogen/methane, and 100 cm³/minute of argon.

Acetonitrile reactor environment: A carbon-supported cobaltcarbide-nitride catalyst containing 1% by weight cobalt was prepared asdescribed in Example 27 under an acetonitrile-containing environmentfrom the precursor prepared in accordance with the procedure set forthabove in Example 26. Catalyst precursor (5.0 g) was treated in thereactor using a flow of 100 cm³/minute argon and approximately 10cm³/minute of acetonitrile vapor.

Butylamine environment: A carbon-supported cobalt carbide-nitridecatalyst containing 1% by weight cobalt was prepared as described inExample 27 under a butylamine-containing environment from the precursorprepared in accordance with the procedure set forth above in Example 26.Catalyst precursor (5.0 g) was treated in the reactor using a flow of100 cm³/minute argon and approximately 15 cm³/minute of butylaminevapor.

Pyridine environment: A carbon-supported cobalt carbide-nitride catalystcontaining 1% by weight cobalt was prepared as described in Example 27under a pyridine-containing environment from the precursor prepared inaccordance with the procedure set forth above in Example 26. Catalystprecursor (5.0 g) was treated in the reactor using a flow of 100cm³/minute argon and approximately 3 cm³/minute of pyridine vapor.

Pyrrole environment: A carbon-supported cobalt carbide-nitride catalystcontaining 1% by weight cobalt was prepared as described in Example 27under a pyrrole-containing environment from the precursor prepared inaccordance with the procedure set forth above in Example 26. Catalystprecursor (5.0 g) was treated in the reactor using a flow of 100cm³/minute argon and approximately 2 cm³/minute of pyrrole vapor.

Picolonitrile environment: A carbon-supported cobalt carbide-nitridecatalyst containing 1% by weight cobalt was prepared as described inExample 27 under a picolonitrile-containing environment from theprecursor prepared in accordance with the procedure set forth above inExample 26. Catalyst precursor (5.0 g) and picolonitrile (3 g) weretreated in the reactor using a flow of 100 cm³/minute argon.

Melamine environment: A carbon-supported cobalt carbide-nitride catalystcontaining 1% by weight cobalt was prepared as described in Example 27under a melamine-containing environment from the precursor prepared inaccordance with the procedure set forth above in Example 26. Catalystprecursor (5.0 g) and melamine (1 g) were treated in the reactor using aflow of 100 cm³/minute argon.

A carbon-supported cobalt containing catalyst was prepared using anorganometallic compound (cobalt(II)phthalocyanine).

A particulate carbon support (5.0 g) having a Langmuir surface area ofapproximately 1500 m²/g and acetone (200 ml) (Aldrich, Milwaukee, Wis.)were added to a 1 liter flask to form a slurry. Cobalt(II)phthalocyanine(0.490 g) was dissolved in acetone (200 ml) contained in a 1 literflask. The cobalt-containing solution was added to the carbon supportslurry over the course of approximately 30 to 40 minutes.

The slurry was stirred using a mechanical stirring rod at 50% output atapproximately 20° C. for 48 hours under a nitrogen blanket. The slurrywas filtered and dried in a vacuum oven for approximately 16 hours at120° C. under a small nitrogen flow of approximately 20 cm³/minute. Theresulting precursor contained approximately 1% by weight cobalt.

Dried catalyst precursor (5.0 g) was charged to the Hastelloy C tubereactor described in Example 23. The reactor was purged with argonintroduced at a rate of approximately 100 cm³/minute at approximately20° C. for approximately 15 minutes. A thermocouple was inserted intothe center of the reactor for charging the precursor material.

The temperature of the reactor was then increased to approximately 950°C. over the course of approximately 45 minutes under a flow of argon of100 cc/min. The temperature of the reactor was maintained atapproximately 950° C. for approximately 120 minutes. The resultingcatalyst contained approximately 1% by weight cobalt.

Example 41

This example details the results of PMIDA oxidations carried out underthe conditions described above in Example 24 using each of the catalystsprepared described above in Example 40 using the various environments.The results are shown in Table 22. TABLE 22 Reaction results fromcatalysts synthesized at 950° C. under different environments Cat. CO₂ %Max Total CO2 % C and/or N charge in after 50 PMIDA Gly FM FA Catalystsources (g) offgas min (cc) (%) (%) (ppm) (ppm) 1% CoC/C 50/50 0.21 6.89450 CH₄/H₂gas^(a) 0.84 17.68 1246 0.962 3.19 1021 6180 1% CoCN/C NH₃0.21 10.38 689 0.84 29.33 1658 0.049 3.65 651 9119 1% CoCN/C NH₃ + H₂0.21 8.24 556 0.84 18.48 1389 0.607 3.23 530 7224 1% CoCN/C CH₄/H₂ + NH₃0.21 15.97 1231 1.116 2.72 1143 6139 1% CoCN/C CH₃CN 0.21 34.6 16500.016 3.81 1551 8243 1% CoCN/C Butylamine 0.21 28.96 1625 0.04 3.74 10358348 (C₄H₁₁N) 1% CoCN/C Pyridine 0.21 28.9 1608 0 3.52 669 8783 (C₅H₅N)1% CoCN/C Pyrrole 0.21 25.39 1622 0 3.31 500 8971 (C₄H₅N) 1% CoCN/CPicolinonitrile 0.21 38.03 1577 0.08 3.28 866 7715 (C₆H₄N₂) 1% CoCN/CMelamine 0.21 44.69 1712 0.017 3.43 2557 6624 (C₃H₆N₆) 1% CoCN/C Cobalt0.21 32.83 1620 0.054 3.78 895 8791 phthalocyanine (C₃₂H₁₆N₈) Co

As shown in Table 22, catalysts prepared from CH₄/H₂, NH₃, (NH₃ and H₂),and (CH₄/H₂ and NH₃) exhibited lower activity as compared to catalystsmade from CH₃CN, butylamine, pyridine, pyrrole, picolinonitrile,melamine, and cobalt phthalocyanine. Each cobalt catalyst exhibitedformaldehyde oxidation activity when the reaction was driven to greaterthan 80% PMIDA conversion.

Example 42

This example details preparation of cobalt-containing catalysts havingvarying metal loadings and their use in PMIDA oxidation toN-(phosphonomethyl)glycine.

Each of the catalysts were synthesized using an acetonitrile environmentin accordance with the procedure set forth above in Example 40. Each ofthe catalysts was then tested in PMIDA oxidation under the conditionsdescribed above in Example 24. The results of each of the PMIDAoxidations are set out below in Table 23. TABLE 23 Reaction results fromCoCN/C synthesized by CH₃CN treatment CO₂ % Total CO₂ PMIDA Gly FM FACatalyst Calcination Calcination Cycle# Max in at 50 (%) (%) (ppm) (ppm)1.0% CoCN/C 950 2 1 36.59 1557 0.016 3.81 1551 8243 2 31.9 1514 0.0173.86 1316 8669 3 29.8 1521 0.021 4.03 1263 9174 4 28.18 1533 0.017 4.051239 9340 1.0% CoCN/C 950 2 1 39.24 1678 0.046 3.46 1577 6908 1.5%CoCN/C 950 2 1 38.45 1611 0.013 4.22 1683 8476 2 33.63 1571 0.016 4.451634 9261 3 31.97 1556 0.016 4.47 1569 9665 4 30.97 1550 0.015 4.39 14959516 1.5% C0CN/C 950 3 1 31.28 1544 0.013 4.08 2029 7825 2 30.69 1509 04.14 1836 8487 3 28.24 1490 0 4.11 1758 8595 2.0% CoCN/C 950 2 1 36.891532 0.010 4.18 1628 8781 2 32.41 1522 0.015 4.42 1361 9711 5.0% CoCN/C950 2 1 34.12 1627 0.017 3.49 1095 8232 2 28.94 1606 0.018 3.85 10679234 3 26.38 1595 0.017 3.79 1068 9142 5.0% CoCN/C 950 4 1 34.22 16550.045 3.64 1315 7626 10% CoCN/C 950 2 1 23.85 1615 0.066 3.58 1025 8200

As shown in Table 23, all carbon-supported cobalt carbide-nitridecatalysts exhibited good PMIDA oxidation activity. The catalysts alsodemonstrated higher formaldehyde oxidation activity and much betterstability compared to the carbon-supported iron carbide-nitridecatalyst. The carbon-supported cobalt carbide-nitride catalystcontaining 1-2% by weight cobalt exhibited the best overall reactionperformance.

Example 43

This example details the preparation of a carbon-supported ironcarbide-nitride precursor from tetraphenylporphyrin (FeTPP) precursor.

A carbon support (8.0 g) was added to a 1 liter flask and charged with400 ml of acetone to form a slurry.

A solution (200 ml) containing iron (III) tetraphenylporphyrin chloride(FeTPP) (2.0 g) in acetone was added drop wise to the carbon slurry for30-40 minutes. The slurry was then stirred at room temperature for 48hours under a nitrogen blanket.

The resulting mixture was filtered and dried overnight in a vacuum ovenat 120° C. under a small nitrogen flow. The resulting precursorcontained approximately 1.1% by weight iron.

Example 44

This example details subjecting catalysts prepared in accordance withthe procedures set forth above in Example 23 and 43 to the PMIDAoxidation conditions described in Example 24. Results are shown in Table24. TABLE 24 Reaction results from iron catalysts synthesized underdifferent environment Total CO₂ at CO₂ % 50 C and N Calcination Max inmin PMIDA Gly FM FA Catalyst sources Temp. (° C.) Cycle offgas (cc) (%)(%) (ppm) (ppm) 0.5% FeCN/C CH₃CN 850 1 33.24 1670 0.014 3.34 6281 16632 22.57 1515 0.5% FeCN/C CH₃CN 950 1 33.34 1740 0.017 3.71 6169 1349 224.48 1555 0.75% FeCN/C CH₃CN 850 1 31.15 1682 0.011 3.50 6162 1857 221.58 1477 1.0% FeCN/C CH₃CN 850 1 25.93 1624 0 3.63 6115 1976 2 19.421344 0.355 3.50 4775 2156 3 17.68 1105 1.279 3.11 4285 1986 4 16.06 10051.721 2.92 3948 1925 2.0% FeCN/C CH₃CN 850 1 21.56 1470 0.009 3.82 50102208 1.1% FeCN/C FeTPP 800 1 57.09 2150 0.014 2.98 7748 530 Fe(C₄₄H₂₈ 243.06 1708 0.017 3.07 7092 821 N₄)Cl 3 36.25 1597 0.018 3.38 6968 1028 431.84 1571

All of the carbon-supported iron carbide-nitride catalysts suffered fromcatalyst deactivation. Both the maximum CO₂ concentration and thecumulative CO₂ decreased with subsequent reaction cycles. The catalystsynthesized from iron (III) tetraphenylporphyrin showed high PMIDAoxidation activity but produces a large amount of formaldehyde,aminomethylphosphonic acid, and N-methyl-aminophosphonic acid andexhibited little activity toward the oxidation of formaldehyde andformic acid. The catalyst synthesized from CH₃CN exhibited PMIDAoxidation activity and formaldehyde oxidation activity.

Example 45

This examples details preparation of molybdenum and tungsten-containingcatalysts in different carbiding environments and their use in PMIDAoxidation under the conditions described in Example 24.

Molybdenum and tungsten-containing catalysts were prepared as describedabove in Example 3 from precursors prepared as described in Example 2using a flow of approximately 100 cm³/min in place of the 50%/50% (v/v)mixture of methane and hydrogen as described in Example 3.

Catalysts containing 1% by weight molybdenum and 1% by weight tungstenprepared in accordance with the present Example were tested under thePMIDA oxidation conditions described in Example 24. A catalystcontaining 10% by weight molybdenum carbide prepared as described inExample 3 and catalysts containing 10% by weight tungsten nitrideprepared as described in Example 3 at varying temperatures were alsotested.

The results are shown in Table 25. TABLE 25 Reaction results fromcatalysts synthesized under different environment CO₂ % Total CO₂ C(&N)Calcination Cat. charge Max in at 50 PMIDA Gly FM FA Catalyst sourceTemp. (° C.) (g) offgas min (cc) (%) (%) (ppm) (ppm) 1% MoCN/C CH₃CN 9500.21 10.92 753 0.63 22.53 1664 0.058 3.51 4281 3230 1% WCN/C CH₃CN 9500.21 11.8 684 0.63 22.04 1638 0 3.52 3288 4534 10% Mo₂C/C CH₄ + H₂ 6500.21 5.19 350 1.05 12.51 870 10% W₂C/C CH₄ + H₂ 700 0.21 4.63 293 1.0515.07 1084 1.353 2.30 3100 1413 10% WC/C CH₄ + H₂ 850 0.21 4.21 284 1.056.43 435 3.664 0.9 1271 561

The catalysts prepared using CH₃CN treatment had superior PMIDAoxidation activity and formaldehyde oxidation activity as compared tothe catalysts prepared by CH₄/H₂ treatment.

Example 46

This example details electroless copper plating on a 1% by weight cobaltcatalyst prepared as described above in Example 27 prepared usingacetonitrile.

1% by weight cobalt catalyst (15.5 g) was added to a 1 liter flaskcontaining nitrogen-sparged water (364 ml) to form a slurry. The flaskwas fitted with a thermocouple, a nitrogen flow inlet, and mechanicalstirrer.

A copper plating solution was prepared by adding reagant grade coppersulfate (CuSO₄.5H₂O) (20.65 g) (Aldrich Chemical Co., Milwaukee, Wis.)and 91.2% tetrasodium ethylenediamine tetraacetate (EDTANa₄) (41.82 g)to nitrogen-sparged water (950 ml). The mixture was cooled toapproximately 10° C. and plating solution was added to thecatalyst-containing slurry. A solution of 37% by weight formalin (20.13)in nitrogen-sparged water (305 ml) was prepared and added dropwise tothe plating mixture over the course of 90 minutes.

The pH of the plating solution was monitored using a pH meter duringaddition of the formalin-containing solution. During the 90 minutes ofaddition of formalin-containing solution, the pH of the plating mixturechanged from 13.65 (at 9.4° C.), to 13.4 (at 10.8° C.) and finally to13.2 (at 11.7° C.). The plating mixture was agitated for approximately30 minutes.

Plated catalyst was allowed to settle out of the plating mixture and thecatalyst was recovered from the mixture by filtration under a nitrogenatmosphere. A filtrate (1533 g) was recovered from the mixture. Theresulting wet cake was dried in nitrogen purged vacuum for approximately8 hours. The dried catalyst weighed approximately 20.21 grams andInductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) analysis provided a copper content ofapproximately 22.5% by weight.

Example 47

The example details use of the copper-containing catalyst prepared asdescribed in Example 46 for the dehydrogenation of diethanolamine.

Dehydrogenation of diethanolamine was conducted in a 300 ml autoclavereactor constructed of Hastelloy C (high strength nickel-based alloy)and equipped with a back pressure regulator, H₂ mass flow meters, and acharge pot which allowed reagents and rinse water to be added to thereactor under inert gas.

The reactor was first flushed with argon (when conducting this reactionon a commercial scale, N₂ would be preferred). A mixture containing a 50wt. % solution of sodium hydroxide (99.81 g) (Aldrich Chemical Co.,Milwaukee, Wis.), diethanolamine (62.50 g) (Huntsman Chemicals), 22.5%copper/1% cobalt catalyst prepared as described in Example 46 (12.4 g),and deionized water (75 ml) to produce a total reaction mixture of 250grams. The reactor was purged with nitrogen and pressurized to 135 psigwith nitrogen. The reaction mixture was then heated to 150° C. whileagitated over the course of two hours. Based on the amount of hydrogengenerated during the reaction, conversion of diethanolamine to disodiumiminodiacetic was approximately 1%.

Example 48

Various carbon-supported transition metal-containing catalysts and theirsupports were analyzed to determine their Langmuir surface areas.Catalysts and supports tested included: the carbon support describedabove in Example 22, a 1% FeCN/C catalyst prepared in accordance withExample 23, a 1% CoCN/C catalyst prepared in accordance with Example 27,a carbon support having a surface area of approximately 1600 m²/g, and a1% FeTPP/C catalyst prepared in accordance with Coleman et al.,International Publication No. WO 03/068387 A1. The overall surface area,surface area attributed to pores having a diameter less than 20 Å (i.e.,micropores), and surface area attributed to pores having a diametergreater than 20 Å (i.e., mesopores and micropores) were determined. Theresults of the surface area measurements are shown in Table 26. TABLE 26Surface Example Example Area (SA) 22 1% 1% 48 1.1% (m²/g) Support FeCN/CCoCN/C support FeTPP/C Overall 1584 1142 1263 1623 888 SA Micropore 1329937 1051 1365 717 SA Meso- & 256 205 212 258 171 Macropore SA

FIG. 17 shows a comparison of the pore surface area of the of the 1% Fe,1% Co catalysts, and the carbon support. FIG. 18 compares the poresurface area of the 1.1% FeTPP catalyst and its carbon support. As shownin FIG. 17, the 1% Fe catalyst has a surface area approximately 80% thetotal surface area of its carbon support while the 1% Co catalyst has asurface area approximately 72% the total surface area of the catalystsupport. As shown in FIG. 18, the 1.1% FeTPP catalyst has a surface areaapproximately 55% of the total surface area of its carbon support.

Example 49

1% CoCN/C and 1.5% CoCN/C catalysts prepared as described in Example 28were analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) analysis to determinetheir nitrogen and transition metal content. The results are shown inTable 27. TABLE 27 C + O + H Co (wt. %) N (wt. %) (wt. %) Example 22<0.1% support 1% CoCN/C 1.0 1.4 97.6 1.5% CoCN/C 1.5 1.7 96.8

Example 50

This example details X-ray powder diffraction analysis (XRD) analysis ofvarious catalysts prepared under different conditions. The catalystswere generally prepared in accordance with the procedure set forth abovein Example 23, 27, 40, or 43 above. The samples and conditions for theirpreparation are described below in Table 28. TABLE 28 Catalyst SampleProcessing conditions 1) 1.5% CoCN/C CH₃CN treated at 950° C. for 2hours 2) 5% CoCN/C CH₃CN treated at 950° C. for 2 hours 3) 5% CoCN/CCH₃CN treated at 950° C. for 4 hours 4) 10% CoCN/C CH₃CN treated at 950°C. for 2 hours 5) Example 22 CH₃CN treated at 950° C. for 2 hourssupport 6) 1% Co- Argon treated at 950° C. for 2 hours phthalocyanine(PLCN) CN/C 7) 1.1% FeTPP/C Argon treated at 800° C. for 2 hours 8) 1%FeCN/C CH₃CN treated at 950° C. for 2 hours

The powder samples were analyzed by placing them directly onto a zerobackground holder and then placing them directly into a Philips PW 1800Θ/Θ diffractometer using Cu radiation at 40 KV/30 mA and equipped with adiffracted beam monochromator to remove the floursecent radiation fromthe cobalt.

The resulting diffraction patterns for samples 1-8 are shown in FIGS.19-26, respectively. The diffraction patterns for samples 1-4, and 6(FIGS. 19-22, and 24) detected graphite and the face centered cubic(FCC) form of cobalt. Particle size analysis of the cobalt and graphitephases was performed through broadening of the diffraction lines whichis sensitive to particles in the 100 Å to 2000 Å range. The results aresummarized below in Table 29. TABLE 29 Particle Size (Å) Sample # FCCcobalt Graphite 1 122 101 2 145 100 3 125 83 4 153 110 6 120 77

The diffraction patterns for sample 7 (FIG. 25) detected graphite andiron carbide (Fe₃C) Particle size analysis provided a particle size ofthe graphite of >1000 Å and approximately 505 Å. The diffractionpatterns for sample 8 (FIG. 26) detected graphite, chromium nitride(CrN), iron nitride (FeN), chromium, and iron carbide (Fe₃C). Particlesize analysis provided a particle size of graphite of approximately 124Å, chromium nitride of approximately 183 Å, and iron nitride ofapproximately 210 Å.

Quantitative analysis was carried out on Samples 1 and 2. The preferredinternal standard was ZnO since it is well characterized and has nolines that overlap the peaks of interest. Approximately 100 mg ofsamples 1 and 2 were mixed with 10.7% ZnO (Sample 1) and 4.89% ZnO(Sample 2) and tested using the XRD procedure described above. Theresulting diffraction for patterns for Samples 1 and 2 are provided inFIGS. 27 and 28, respectively.

Quantitative analysis was then carried out on Samples 1 and 2 usingRivetfeld refinement to determine the amount of each phase. TheRivetfeld refinement is a whole pattern-fitting program that computes adiffraction pattern based on first principles, compares it to theexperimental pattern, computes an error between the two patterns, andthen modifies the theoretical pattern until the residual error isminimized. In both cases, the Rivetfeld refinement gave log residualerrors in the 5-7% range. The results of the Rivetfeld refinement areset forth below in Table 30. TABLE 30 Weight Fractions (%) Sample #Cobalt (FCC) Graphite 1 1.2 +/− 0.2% 4.2 +/− 0.3% 2 3.7 +/− 0.3% 4.6 +/−0.2%

An estimate of the weight fractions of Samples 3 and 6 are provided inTable 31. TABLE 31 Weight Fractions (%) Sample # Cobalt (FCC) Graphite 33.0% 12.0% 6 0.5%  1.4%

FIGS. 29 and 30 provide comparisons of the diffraction patterns ofSamples 2 and 3, and Samples 3 and 6, respectively.

Example 51

This example details scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmissionelectron microscopy (TEM) analysis of Samples 1, 2, 4, 7, and 8described above in Example 50. The SEM analysis was performed using aJEOL JSM 6460LV scanning electron microscope operated at 30 kV. The TEMcharacterizations were carried out using a JEOL 1200 EX TEM operated at120 keV and/or JEOL 2000 EX TEM operated at 200 keV.

FIGS. 31 and 32 are SEM images showing a view of the powder of Sample 1and a cross-sectional view, respectively. FIGS. 33 and 34 are SEM imagesshowing the distribution of carbon nanotubes on the surface of thecarbon substrate and the morphology of the carbon nanotubes,respectively. FIGS. 35 and 36 are SEM images showing the carbonnanoutubes of the powder sample of Sample 1.

FIGS. 37 and 38 are SEM images showing a view of the powder of Sample 2and a cross-sectional view, respectively. FIGS. 39 and 40 are SEM imagesshowing the distribution of the cobalt particles on the powder sample ofSample 2 and cross-sectional view, respectively. FIG. 41 is an SEM imageshowing the carbon nanotubes on the surface of the carbon support. FIG.42 is an Energy dispersive X-ray analysis spectroscopy (EDS) spectrum ofthe powder sample of Sample 2. The EDS spectrum of Sample 2 wasdetermined using an Oxford energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy system.

FIGS. 43 and 44 are TEM image images of Sample 4 at low and highmagnification, respectively.

FIG. 45 is an SEM image of a powder sample of Sample 7. FIG. 46 is abackscattered electron image of the powder sample of Sample 7.

FIGS. 47 and 48 are TEM images showing a cross-sectional view of Sample7.

FIG. 49 is an SEM image of a powder sample of Sample 8. FIG. 50 is abackscattered electron image of the powder sample of Sample 8. FIGS. 51and 52 are high magnification SEM images of powder sample 8 showing thegrowth of carbon nanotubes on the carbon support. FIGS. 53 and 54 areTEM images providing a cross-sectional view of Sample 8.

Example 52

This examples details X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Analysis (XPS) ofthe samples described above in Example 50 (detailed in Table 28).

The XPS analysis was performed under the analytical conditions set forthin Table 32. TABLE 32 Instrument Physical Electronics Quantum 2000Scanning XPS X-ray source Monochromatic Al Kα Analysis areas 0.4 mm ×0.4 mm Take-off angle 45 degrees Charge correction C—C, C—H in C1sspectra set to 284.8 eV Charge Neutralization Low energy electron andion floods

Surface concentration results (area comment) for Samples 1-6 in terms ofAtomic % and Weight % are detailed below in Tables 33 and 34,respectively. TABLE 33 Sample C N O Cl Co 1 97.3 1.2 1.0 0.07 0.42 297.9 0.2 1.3 0.09 0.52 3 97.9 0.7 0.9 0.05 0.41 4 97.7 0.4 1.2 0.08 0.735 97.3 1.8 0.8 0.07 — 6 98.5 0.4 0.8 0.10 0.19

TABLE 34 Sample C N O Cl Co 1 95.1 1.4 1.3 0.2 2.0 2 95.4 0.3 1.6 0.32.5 3 95.9 0.8 1.2 0.1 2.0 4 94.4 0.4 1.5 0.2 3.5 5 96.6 2.1 1.1 0.2 — 697.3 0.5 1.0 0.3 0.9

The cobalt 2p3 curve fit results for samples 1-4 and 6 are summarizedbelow in Table 35. TABLE 35 Sample % Co as metal % Co as oxide 1 27 73 247 53 3 35 65 4 35 65 6 61 39

Surface concentration results (area comment) for Samples 7-8 in terms ofAtomic % and Weight % are detailed below in Tables 36 and 37,respectively. TABLE 36 Sample C N O Na Cl Fe 7 97.6 0.7 1.5 0.0 0.1 0.28 95.2 0.6 2.6 0.7 0.2 0.8

TABLE 37 Sample C N 0 Na Cl Fe 7 96.2 0.7 2.0 0.0 0.3 0.7 8 90.8 0.6 3.31.3 0.6 3.3

The iron curve fit results (% of Fe) for samples 7-8 are summarizedbelow in Table 38. TABLE 38 % Fe as Sample % Fe as metal oxide/hydroxide7 7 93 8 43 57

FIG. 54 is the XPS spectra for samples 1-6. FIG. 55 shows the XPSspectra for samples 7 and 8.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and can bevariously modified. The above description of the preferred embodiments,including the Examples, is intended only to acquaint others skilled inthe art with the invention, its principles, and its practicalapplication so that others skilled in the art may adapt and apply theinvention in its numerous forms, as may be best suited to therequirements of a particular use.

With reference to the use of the word(s) comprise or comprises orcomprising in this entire specification (including the claims below),unless the context requires otherwise, those words are used on the basisand clear understanding that they are to be interpreted inclusively,rather than exclusively, and applicants intend each of those words to beso interpreted in construing this entire specification.

1-240. (canceled)
 241. A process for the oxidation of an organicsubstrate, the process comprising contacting said substrate with anoxidizing agent in the presence of an oxidation catalyst, wherein saidoxidation catalyst comprises a transition metal composition comprising atransition metal and nitrogen on a carbon support, wherein saidtransition metal composition constitutes at least about 0.2% by weightof the catalyst.
 242. A process as set forth in claim 241 wherein saidtransition metal composition comprises a transition metal nitride,transition metal carbide, transition metal oxide, transition metalcarbide-nitride or combinations thereof.
 243. A process as set forth inclaim 242 wherein said transition metal composition comprises atransition metal nitride.
 244. A process as set forth in claim 242wherein said transition metal composition comprises a transition metalcarbide.
 245. A process as set forth in claim 242 wherein saidtransition metal composition comprises a transition metalcarbide-nitride.
 246. A process as set forth in claim 242 wherein saidtransition metal is selected from the group consisting of iron, cobaltand combinations thereof.
 247. A process as set forth in claim 246wherein said transition metal comprises iron.
 248. A process as setforth in claim 246 wherein said transition metal comprises cobalt. 249.A process as set forth in claim 242 wherein said transition metal isselected from the group consisting of molybdenum, tungsten andcombinations thereof.
 250. A process as set forth in claim 249 whereinsaid transition metal comprises molybdenum.
 251. A process as set forthin claim 249 wherein said transition metal comprises tungsten.
 252. Aprocess as set forth in claim 242 wherein said oxidation catalystcomprises a particulate carbon support.
 253. A process as set forth inclaim 252 wherein said particulate carbon support is porous and saidtransition metal composition is substantially evenly distributedthroughout the carbon particle.
 254. A process as set forth in claim 242wherein said transition metal composition comprises an active phase forthe catalysis of a redox reaction.
 255. A process as set forth in claim254 wherein said active phase is effective for catalyzing the reductionof molecular oxygen.
 256. A process as set forth in claim 242 whereinsaid transition metal composition constitutes from about 0.4% to about15% by weight of said catalyst.
 257. A process as set forth in claim 242wherein the transition metal of said transition metal compositionconstitutes at least about 0.1% by weight of said catalyst.
 258. Aprocess as set forth in claim 257 wherein the transition metal of saidtransition metal composition constitutes from about 0.1% to about 10% byweight of said catalyst.
 259. A process as set forth in claim 258wherein the transition metal of said transition metal compositionconstitutes from about 0.25% to about 7% by weight of said catalyst.260. A process as set forth in claim 259 wherein the transition metal ofsaid transition metal composition constitutes from about 0.5% to about5% by weight of said catalyst.
 261. A process as set forth in claim 242wherein the nitrogen of said transition metal composition constitutes atleast about 0.01% by weight of said catalyst.
 262. A process as setforth in claim 261 wherein the nitrogen of said transition metalcomposition constitutes from about 0.01% to about 10.0% by weight ofsaid catalyst.
 263. A process as set forth in claim 262 wherein thenitrogen of said transition metal composition constitutes from about0.1% to about 7% by weight of said catalyst.
 264. A process as set forthin claim 263 wherein the nitrogen of said transition metal compositionconstitutes from about 1% to about 5% by weight of said catalyst.
 265. Aprocess as set forth in claim 242 wherein said transition metalcomposition is present in such proportion that the transition metal ofsaid transition metal composition constitutes at least about 0.1% byweight of said catalyst, and the nitrogen of said transition metalcomposition constitutes at least about 0.01% by catalyst.
 266. A processas set forth in claim 242 wherein the atomic ratio of transition metalto nitrogen in said transition metal composition is from about 1:4 toabout 3:1.
 267. A process as set forth in claim 242 wherein said organicsubstrate comprises a tertiary amine which is oxidized to a secondaryamine.
 268. A process as set forth in claim 267 wherein said tertiaryamine substrate corresponds to a compound of Formula II having thestructure:

wherein R¹ is selected from the group consisting of R⁵OC(O)CH₂— andR⁵OCH₂CH₂—, R² is selected from the group consisting of R⁵OC(O)CH₂—,R⁵OCH₂CH₂—, hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, acyl, —CHR⁶PO₃R⁷R⁸,and —CHR⁹SO₃R¹⁰, R⁶, R⁹ and R¹¹ are selected from the group consistingof hydrogen, alkyl, halogen and —NO₂, and R³, R⁴, R⁵, R⁷, R⁸ and R¹⁰ areindependently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen,hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl and a metal ion.
 269. A process asset forth in claim 268 wherein R¹ comprises R⁵OC(O)CH₂—, R¹¹ ishydrogen, and R⁵ is selected from hydrogen and an agronomicallyacceptable cation.
 270. A process as set forth in claim 269 wherein R²is selected from the group consisting of R⁵OC(O)CH₂—, acyl, hydrocarbyland substituted hydrocarbyl.
 271. A process as set forth in claim 268wherein said tertiary amine substrate comprisesN-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid or a salt thereof and is oxidizedto form N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine or a salt thereof.
 272. A process asset forth in claim 271 wherein said oxidation catalyst functions tocatalyze both the oxidation of said tertiary amine substrate and thefurther oxidation of formaldehyde and formic acid produced asby-products of the oxidation of said tertiary amine substrate.